The Lost Son of the Senju
by penandpenguin
Summary: An unnamed Goddess of Mischief has found a new toy. Find out what awaits this poor soul as he's thrown into a weird version of Naruto.
1. Chapter 1: The Youngest Senju

It was the dead of night as a figure was running along the rooftops of the village. In front of them a giant cliff could be seen with four faces carved onto the side overlooking the sleeping village. Tucked under their arm was the figure of an unconscious toddler. The figure stopped on a rooftop after reaching their destination. The figure dropped the toddler on the ground, grabbing a scroll out of their clothes they left it next to the toddler. The figure took one more glance at the cliffside a slight smile could be seen at the edge of their mouth. A moment later the figure jumped off the roof and began running again.

The toddler was sleeping soundly as a few masked men had found their way to the rooftop. A man with a mask that resembled a pig's face approached the sleeping child. Crouching down he examined what was before him and slowly extended a hand in caution towards the scroll left on the ground. He unrolled the scroll to see what was inside. A moment passed before he rolled the scroll back up and turned to the others around him. "Get the Hokage to come here immediately. He's going to want to see this for himself." The pig masked man told his subordinates in a quiet but firm tone. Two men had flickered off of the roof while the rest set up a perimeter around the sleeping toddler.

In a nearby house a yellow haired man was sitting down after a long day of work. He could finally spend some time to himself and maybe if he was lucky a little time with his wife. A red headed woman had just sat down next to him as a masked man had appeared outside the house. Soon a loud knocking could be heard throughout the house. The red headed woman with an obvious look of annoyance got up from the couch and answered the door. "What could it possibly be at this time" she said.

"Ma'am its urgent I need to see the Hokage as soon as possible" the masked man had asked.

"Fine. Minato it's a cute girl for you. Hurry up and get your ass over here to take care of this." The red headed woman was beyond angry with people showing up at all times of the night. In front of this woman the masked man choose to stay silent being in his position he knew how strong the kunoichi in front of him was. It would be better to not say anything than get on her bad side. The blonde haired man, Minato, slowly got up from where he was sitting and went to the front door. "What is it now?" He asked the masked man in front of him.

"Sir, I think you're going to want to see this yourself."

"What's so urgent that you need me to be there?"

"About a quarter of an hour ago someone had left you a note and a child on top of the Hokage's office."

"You can bet your ass we're going to the office right now." Interrupted the red headed woman next to Minato. She was already starting to get an idea of whose kid this might be.

"Let's go. Kushina I'm sure you're coming as well?" He asked hoping that she'd hold off on making any assumptions.

"There is no way I'm missing this." She said with a grin

"It's not what you think it is at all. I'm just as curious about this as you are." Minato quickly interrupted Kushina before she could say anymore. The three then quickly left for the Hokage's office. On the roof the three appeared before the perimeter the masked men had set up. Minato looked for the leader of the group before asking what was going on. The pig masked man told The Hokage about what has transpired so far. After coming to the conclusion that they wouldn't be able to find out who the ninja was that dropped off the child. Minato turned his attention to the scroll that the pig masked man held. He read a few lines and his carefree attitude has already disappeared. Seeing her husband like this Kushina asked what's going on.

"According to this letter the boy on the ground there is a Senju." Minato looked around at the rest of the group on the roof before continuing "Everything about this child is to be an S-Class secret as of this moment. I need one of you to send for The Third and I want him here as soon as possible. I don't care if you have to drag the old man out of bed by force."

"What's going on?" There was a hint of worry in Kushina's voice as each line Minato read his expression worsened. Soon he rolled up the scroll and turned to his wife and motioned for her to follow him to his office. Once inside Minato sat on his chair and let out a long sigh. He hadn't read the whole scroll yet but the very little he did read so far caused him to be in serious dread. After calming himself he once again opened the scroll to continue reading it. Once again his expression worsened as he continued on reading the scroll. It took him close to ten minutes to finally finish before he rolled it back up and handed it to his wife. "You're going to want to read that. I know you're going to have a lot of questions as I do but please wait until you finished it before asking anything. Once Sarutobi also reads this I think that we will have a rather long discussion about this." Minato let his wife know what he was planning. Kushina finished reading the scroll in a little more time than it took Minato. When she finished she rolled it up only to find an older man walking in.

"It's rare for you to look for an old man like me in the middle of the night, Minato."

"Sensei, I think that you would want to know about this before anyone else." Even though it was the middle of the night Sarutobi didn't look displeased at all. Although he was no longer as active in the village as he used to be before Minato became The Fourth. He was still willing to council and advise Minato when he needed it. He didn't want to interfere with the new generation's time to care for the village as he was prepared to step back and watch his home grow and prosper. "Kushina, do you mind letting Sarutobi read it? I'm sure you want this to start as much as I do." Minato calmly asked his wife who moved to hand the scroll to the third.

"I'm sure this isn't just any letter for you to be asking for me at this time." Sarutobi said as he eyed the looks of the other two in the room.

"You'll know once you read the scroll" Kushina said as she walked back over to the window to gaze at the village on the other side. Many emotions were reflected on the glass as she was still coming to term of what she had read. Sarutobi opened the scroll and just like the other two his expression soon turned stiff. Just like the other two before him it took over ten minutes for Sarutobi to read the contents of the scroll. Once he digested what he had read he slowly rolled the scroll back up before looking at Minato and Kushina. "I think we should send for Tsunade as soon as possible. She's had it rough for awhile and knowing she might have another family member might give her some hope."

Minato had written a letter in the time the other two were reading the scroll for Tsunade. Now that everyone had finished and they could begin their discussion he got up from his chair and walked to the door. Outside he handed the scroll to the closest ANBU bodyguard with his instructions to deliver this as soon as possible in person. Minato then walked back to his desk and heaved a deep sigh before saying "From what I gathered from that scroll there are four main points. Besides the first one the rest could have more than once consequence for this village. We need to figure out if these claims are true and we need to verify what was discussed in the scroll as soon as possible. Kushina and I will keep the child safe until Tsunade returns to the village. As for after that we should leave it up to Tsunade as she is his only living relative at this point."

"Minato we can discuss this later but for now I think we need to investigate these claims before we move on any of the information in this. If we can verify the easier parts then I think we can make an attempt at valuing the more outrageous claims in this. Does this person seriously expect us to believe this?" Kushina said. The meeting between the three lasted through the night.

Tsunade was woken up when the sun started to shine through the crack in the shades. Getting up in the bed she could feel a pounding headache. Her head felt like it was ready to split apart as she tried to put the pieces of last night back together. All she could remember was drinking a few drinks before going to play some cards. She remembered only bits and pieces but something felt very off last night. She sat up in the bed surveying the room for the closest drink of water she could find. Instead of finding what she wanted Tsunade noticed her clothes were spread out all over the room in a very chaotic manner. Sighing inwardly she could only think of one thing that led her to this situation. Unfortunately her memories of last night were still blurry at best which couldn't help alleviate her fears of what happened last night. Once more she tried to piece the pieces together but nothing changed. The only thing that she could figure out was that she occasionally won last night. Feeling defeated by this she got up out of bed grabbing her clothes from around the room. Outside of her door she heard a voice call out to her.

"Lady Tsunade its urgent and there is someone here to see you. You should come out when you can we need to head back to the village as soon as possible." The voice on the other side of the door was a voice she had become used to recently, Shizune. After losing her uncle, Shizune has been learning medical ninjutsu from her. On the other side of the door Shizune was looking especially worried. Not only was last night a mess but with the appearance of this messenger she could only worry.

"Alright. I'll be out in a minute." Tsunade grumbled. Inside she was getting herself together. Snatching the rest of her clothes she got dressed while thinking about what the village could possibly want from her. She only left the village a few months ago after she could no longer stand the loss in her heart. She wanted to get away, to run away from her troubles. The village was already calling her back but why? What could I offer with how I am right now? Tsunade left the room and descended the stairs to see Shizune standing next to an ANBU operative.

"Lady Tsunade this is from The Fourth and he orders you to return to the village as soon as possible. He expects you back to the village before nightfall. Now that I have delivered his message I'll take my leave." The ANBU operative then disappeared into thin air as Tsunade could only looked shocked to what she just heard. She was ordered back by The Fourth? He has never used this kind of authority towards her before. Tsunade unrolled the scroll and started reading what was in front of her. Soon the scroll started to show creases and Tsunade's face showed shock. Shizune to the side wanted to ask what was in it but before she could Tsunade spoke "Shizune get what you need ready. We're leaving for the village immediately. I need to speak to The Fourth as soon as possible."

It took Tsunade and Shizune less than fifteen minutes to make their preparations before leaving their lodging. They were already running out of the town they were staying heading towards Konoha. Shizune had never seen Tsunade looked this determined before. She couldn't figure out what exactly she was thinking as Tsunade stared straight ahead. Eventually she worked up the courage to ask what the fourth's order was. Tsunade looked at her with a little bit of hope in her eyes and told her "Last night a little boy was dropped off on the roof of the Hokage's office. In a note left next to the child it said he was a Senju. I don't know how he's related to me but if he is I want to see him. There's a chance that I might have family again. Minato had asked me to be the child's guardian as I might be his only family."

Shizune was shocked by what she heard but couldn't help smiling. Tsunade being the last Senju was a well known fact in and out of the village. For her to have family would change everything for her. It had been so long since she was determined to move forward in life. This child could be an incredible gift for her. Shizune, herself had wanted Tsunade to move on as she hates seeing her like this. Looking at Tsunade she could see her tighten her fists as they increased their pace back towards the village. It shouldn't take more than a few hours for the duo to make it to the village.

At a different place on the same morning Kushina was already having her hands full. The child they had taken in the night before was running around their entire house trying his best to not be caught by her. The little guy would do anything to not be caught by her. Running under tables, sneaking in between the back of furniture and the wall and the worse was him sliding under chairs to avoid her. Kushina could easily catch him if she wanted to but she didn't want to scare the little guy. The boy tried his best to keep running room from room but the best he could do was to run a little before falling and trying again. Although she was annoyed with the child she couldn't help but chuckle each time he fell over. He was pretty adorable trying his best to run around.

Eventually the boy ended up running into Minato who had just come out of a room and knocking himself onto his rear. Tears started to well up in the child's eyes as he seemed to finally let it all out in front of the two. "Look what you did. He's crying now, come here little guy I'll make sure the bad man doesn't hurt you anymore." Kushina said while giving her husband a dirty look.

"It's not my fault he ran into me." Minato tried to defend himself as he began to crouch in front of the little guy. "Please don't cry, I didn't mean to hurt you." Despite his begging the crying only got louder as Kushina picked up the child in her arms. In Kushina's arms the child started wailing and struggling to get away. Immediately Kushina lowered the child back to the floor as he scampered away to another room as quickly as possible. The couple stared at each other before Minato broke the silence with "I think the little guy is already traumatized. I think he's smart enough to know what's happened to him."

Kushina nodded in agreement but it showed on her face how much it pained her to agree. Eventually they both followed after the escaped child to make sure he didn't hurt himself. Searching through the house they couldn't find the little boy but they could hear his crying turn into sobs. They narrowed the sobs to be coming from a guest bedroom. In the room they could hear the sobs of the child but couldn't find him. Looking around they realized the only spot they hadn't checked was under the bed. Kushina moved to look under the bed but was stopped when Minato placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

"It's better to leave him be for now."

"I'm not going to let a child cry under our bed" Kushina barked back at Minato

"Please, let's give him some space and maybe he'll come out on his own in a few minutes. He's probably hungry so let's get him some food for now."

"Fine but you're making his breakfast." She didn't want to leave the kid be but she knew he was right. His environment had changed without him realizing so she eventually gave up.

The two walked out of the room leaving the child behind. "Do you think Tsunade will be able to handle him like this? I mean she's also not in the best state of mind."

"We can only hope for the best. If that kid really is a Senju there is a chance that he can revive the clan. Bringing that family back from the brink? I can only imagine how happy that would make her. I'd also like to do the same for your Uzumaki's"

Kushina wrapped her arms around Minato and spoke in his ear "I think it might be time to talk about that now."

"We can leave that for when we're alone. I have breakfast to make remember?"

Minato walked to the kitchen and was trying to figure out what to make the kid for breakfast. When he heard the voice of an old man come from the entrance of his house.

"I hope it's alright for me to come in. I'm curious how our visitor is doing."

Kushina went to greet Sarutobi who was waiting at the entrance of their home. "Honestly it's not going so well. He won't let anyone near him and is now hiding under our guest bed crying. He slept through the whole night and we didn't have any problems until he ran into Minato a little bit ago. Come in and sit down, Minato is making breakfast for everyone now."

"I'm still trying to figure out what to let the kid eat" Minato had chimed in from the kitchen.

"Toast" Sarutobi replied back "It's easy enough for him to eat without any problems since I'm sure he's not going to be sitting at a table. If he's still hiding leave it on the floor of the room and he'll eat it when he wants to."

Kushina roared at the old man "How can you treat a child like that? The poor kid is traumatized and you want to let him fend for himself?"

"Kushina, we need to build trust with the child before we can move forward. If he doesn't trust us then how will he open up to us?" Minato added as he poured a glass of water.

"He makes a point. I don't like it just as much as you but right now he won't do anything we ask him to until he spends some time with us. Tsunade should be here soon and maybe she might have better luck with him."

"We can only hope" Sarutobi said as he sat down. "Have the two of you already talked about what you're going to do with what the scroll said? I'm sure it's not easy to believe but it's better to be prepared for anything."

"Minato and I haven't talked about it yet we've been too worried about our guest." Kushina said as she looked a bit red in the face turning to look away at the door the child was in. In a low voice she told the others to look.

Three heads were all looking at the doorway of the guest bedroom. Soon they saw a head peek out with red eyes from the door frame before disappearing. The child had crawled out from under the bed but wouldn't make his way out from the room. Minato walked over and left a plate of toast and the glass of water in front of the door and slowly backed away. Soon two tiny hands made their way to grab a piece of toast. Then the tiny hands took the glass into the room before another slice of toast was taken. It didn't take long before the plate was empty. A light laugh could be heard from the three watching this unfold. Minato then picked up the empty dishes and slowly walked back to the kitchen to continue making everyone else breakfast.

An hour passed by and the head of the child was only seen once in this time. Kushina couldn't take it anymore and went to find him. She looked all over the room and couldn't find the little Senju. She looked in the closet, under the bed and anywhere else she could think of. Her eyes then laid on one of the dressers that had been open slightly with some of the linens inside hanging out. She gently moved it to the side to see a sleeping child curled up in a ball. "Sleep tight little guy, you deserve it." Kushina said softly before leaving the room.

"How is he doing?" Minato asked when Kushina returned.

"He's sleeping in the drawer of the dresser under the sheets we left in there."

"That child is a survivor" Sarutobi chimed in while taking a sip of the tea in front of him.

"I want to put him to sleep on the bed but he looked too peaceful to move. I gave up and came back here."

"Lord Hokage there is a visitor here to see you" A loud voice was heard from one of the ANBU guards outside of the Hokage's house.

"Thank you please let them in."

Tsunade quickly entered the Hokage's house with Shizune behind her. Minato got up to greet her and softly told her to be quiet as he was sleeping right now. Shizune paid her respects to the others while Minato was busy with Tsunade. After everyone had gotten the pleasantries out of the way Minato and Tsunade moved towards his guest bedroom. Inside Tsunade looked around and her face twisting into one of confusion. She couldn't find the little kid she came here to meet. She glared at Minato who moved to the side and pointed to the drawer that he was sleeping. Looking to where Minato was pointing Tsunade made her way across the room and pulled out the drawer. She took out the linens that were on top of the child and finally saw a little boy sound a sleep.

"What's his name?" Tsunade asked as she had a smile on his face. The child in front of her had auburn hair with red eyes. Those eyes reminded her of her great uncle the second hokage.

"The letter left with him didn't say. I'll show it to you in a little bit and we'd also like your opinion on what's written in it."

"How old is he? Who were his parents? Where did he come from?" Tsunade couldn't help herself anymore. She started rambling off anything she could think of. It had only been a minute but she knew that this child needed her. It was a feeling that she's never felt before.

"We honestly don't know anything about him. He was just left here last night with a note and as for what we found out this morning is, the little guy is scared." Minato told her in a quiet voice. Tsunade reached into the drawer to pick up her new family member which caused Minato to try and stop her but it was too late. "I don't think he lik..."

A blistering wail was let out in the next moment as the child finally woke up. Kushina, Sarutobi and Shizune all burst into the room to make sure everything was all right. However, what they saw when they entered the room could only make them laugh. Inside was an angry Tsunade holding a wet child and behind her was Minato who couldn't stop laughing at the sight in front of him. The child was so scared in front of her that he couldn't hold his bladder anymore. Kushina then realized that he hadn't gone to the bathroom since they found him last night.


	2. Chapter 2: Giving a Name

"I tried to warn you about that. I don't think he likes being picked up." Minato said as he tried to calm Tsunade down. She had put down the little guy down on the bed next to her as Shizune and Kushina went to help her with her clothes. Minato and Sarutobi exited the room to head back to the living room. It would take some time for this mess to calm down. Soon five people were sitting around a table and a child could be seen sleeping behind them. The room held a heavy atmosphere and all parties were staring at a scroll on the center of the table in front of them. The first to break the silence was Sarutobi "How about we start with something easier? Tsunade have you thought about a name for that child?"

"Actually, yes I have." Tsunade looked behind her at the sleeping child before turning back to the rest. "I was thinking of naming him Tobi after the second hokage. I think we all know that he supposedly never had any children but I'd like to think there is a possibility that he could be related to him somehow."

"Tobi Senju. I think it's a great name" Kushina chimed in.

"Lady Tsunade does this mean that you are going to raise Tobi?" Shizune asked with a hint of hope in her eyes.

"Yes I think I will. If he really is a Senju then I would very much like to resurrect our clan. I don't want to put pressure on a child but for now whether he is or isn't I would like to take care of him. I'm not sure what the future will hold especially after reading that but would you be willing to lend me a hand?" Tsunade looked around the room hoping for their support.

The room was unanimous in its decision to support Tsunade. Kushina even joked about having little Tobi marry her daughter if she had one. A loud sound of laughter erupted and the mood started to brighten. They spent the next few minutes talking about how they wanted to get things for little Tobi. Kushina and Shizune wanted to take him shopping to get him some cute clothes. Sarutobi just sat there drinking his tea but he was enjoying the look of happiness that had returned to Tsunade's face. Noticing that the tone had shifted Minato figured it was the best moment to discuss what they had called people for. He asked Shizune to guard the entrance of the house as the rest needed to discuss the contents of the scroll. Minato then unrolled the scroll and left it out for all to see.

 _Dear Hokage,_

 _I have left a present for you. I didn't expect to find this when I went out shopping at a research base. I just couldn't help but think of what a new Senju would do for you so I decided to gift him to you. Although I come bearing gifts for you it doesn't mean that I'm not asking for anything in return. I made a trade with someone and to hold up my end I need to let you know about a few things. I'll also make some suggestions to help you out too._

 _The first is something that concerns something very close to you Mr. Fourth. On October 10th you and your wife will die. You will give up your life protecting your village while Kushina will die due to childbirth complications. Your now orphaned child will be the new jinchuuriki but I can't offer any information about that. The biggest factor to your deaths is that the nine tails seal is its weakest during childbirth. You will be attacked at this moment as information will leak. I suggest having a child earlier than you planned hoping to catch your would be assailants off guard._

 _The second is that you should tend to your garden more often. Its seems like the roots and foundation that you left alone have become a cancer. It is best to treat the tumor before the disease can spread. It should be easily identifiable as long as you don't let your past interfere with the future. If nothing is done about this then the future will be filled with regrets. Without a healthy forest around The Senju won't be the only clan that disappears from the leaf._

 _Last but not least, the hidden village of the mist will undergo a change if it hasn't already. Interfere in their war and help the resistance, doing so will net you a few nice things. Their fourth is being controlled and the way its done might interest you. I have held up my end of the deal. Enjoy your gift and hopefully you don't disappoint the one who did this for you._

 _P.S Mr. Fourth you should go shopping in the hidden grass village after you've had your child. You should be able to pick out something lovely for your wife and it will make a lovely present._

"If we can believe this then Kushina and I will be dead in a year and a half at the earliest. It's still half a year until October and if Kushina was pregnant then we would already know. We will talk about the suggestions mentioned later once we have some time to ourselves. I'd prefer that decision to be between the two of us. With that being said let's move on to the second one as what Kushina said earlier makes sense. We can't prove anything about the future right now but these other ones may be able to tell us if the sender is worth trusting."

"Understandable. The second point is most likely talking about Danzo if I had to guess. It's not a cleverly hidden message but I think that's the point to it. As for the third one we haven't had much recent intel coming from there. It might be worth sending a few extra men to see the current situation there." said Sarutobi as Danzo was the only name who came to mind.

"What do you know about Danzo? I know practically nothing once he started that organization of his" added Tsunade from the side.

"I'm more curious about what they mean about controlling the Mizukage. Does anyone know anything about him?" Asked Kushina.

"We've given Danzo a bit of free reign in what he wanted to do but it sounds like it will be a mistake according to this. Maybe we could plant someone at his side to get some information out of him? Unfortunately there isn't much we know about the Mizukage's abilities as he hasn't been around too long. We have a lot of work in front of us if we want to trust what's in this scroll. Any ideas on what you think the part about the clans is talking about? Should we also investigate any potential threats to them? Kushina do you think you could ask Mikoto about the Uchihas? If there's a possibility of danger to them she might have an idea. Does anyone have someone they're close with inside of the Hyuugas?"

"I'll see what I can do but she's pretty perceptive. She's going to pick up on something being off since I normally don't care about how their clan is doing. Should I make some things up if she's suspicious or can I tell her a bit of the truth?"

"I'll leave it to you when it comes to that. If you want to tell her a bit go for it but not everything." Minato said before continuing "I trust everyone in this room about this but let's try to keep this circle small. I'm not sure what kind of threat the village will face that will cause me to die but I want to avoid that future as much as possible. Sarutobi I want you to be in charge of gathering information about the mist and I'll take the charge of the interior problems. Tsunade I think you should find a new home for the Senju clan but don't rush into anything right now. I can prepare a small house for you and Tobi to live together for now if you'd like. For now please stay here with Kushina as I need to go to work."

"I'll take you up on that offer Minato. Also you might want to ask for Jiraiya's opinion on this. He might be very interested in what's written here. Since he's been wandering around then there is a chance he might know a little about the mist." Now that she had said her piece Tsunade got up from her seat and went over to the sleeping Tobi. She took the little boy and held him in her arms. Looking at him in her arms caused her to smile. To others it was the first time they saw her truly smile for a long time.

Minato and Sarutobi left the house shortly after the impromptu meeting finished. Tsunade, Kushina and Shizune spent the rest of the day taking care of little Tobi. The biggest problem they faced was that none of them knew anything about raising children. They all had ideas of what they wanted to do for the little guy in front of him. Tsunade wanted to spend time with him, Shizune wanted to make sure he had the essentials for a child and Kushina wanted to dress him up. In the end the three decided to do what they wanted but they would need help. Kushina asked her friend Mikoto Uchiha for help.

It took her less than an hour to come over. Her son Itachi was already five years old so Mikoto had some leeway in leaving her home and her experience could help the three. When Mikoto entered the house she was surprised when she saw Tsunade, Shizune and Tobi. Mikoto trying to break the ice giggled before saying "I didn't know you had a child Lady Tsunade."

"He's not mine." She spat out defensively.

"I thought so. If you had a child the village would be in an uproar trying to figure out the father." Mikoto said in jest. "I think I have an idea of why I'm here but I'll ask just in case."

Kushina then filled Mikoto in on how Tobi had been found. Tsunade then told her that she would be his guardian for the time being and that she would need help on how to care for a child. She didn't have any hands on experience in this area. Mikoto gladly offered her help to the three. It didn't take long before the three felt a little more comfortable taking care of Tobi.

Shizune had left the hokage's house once she had been given a list of errands to run for Tobi. Kushina told Tsunade that she would take Mikoto to do some shopping for Tobi's clothes. Tsunade was left with Tobi in the house. She decided to watch over the sleeping child next to her enjoying the time with him. Tobi woke up and surveyed his surroundings. Realizing he was no longer in the drawer he started to panic. Tsunade quickly tried to calm him down by rubbing his back but it only made him struggle more. She soon sat him on the couch and backed up. She bent down to Tobi's eye level and started talking to him "My name is Tsunade. Can you tell me who you are?"

Tobi stared at Tsunade for a brief moment before trying to leave the couch. Tsunade then moved him back to the couch. "Do you have a name?" Tobi shook his head and once again tried to run away from her. Once more Tsunade placed Tobi back on the couch in front of her.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Why are you trying to run?" The others had already talked to Tsunade about how scared Tobi was earlier. Now that she saw it first hand she understood something has already happened to the kid. Tobi stared at Tsunade, open his mouth then closed it. He repeated this a few more times then just stared at his feet. Tsunade didn't want to force him to answer so she tried to softly place her hand on his head to reassure him. The moment her hand touched his head Tobi started screaming. He yelled as loud as he can and flailed wildly trying to get away from Tsunade.

"Hey, hey, calm down kid. I'm not going to hurt you" Tsunade took a step back as she got curious to why he was so scared. "Who are you afraid of?"

It took a few minutes for Tobi to calm down enough to let out one simple word, Snakeman. This word caused Tsunade to lose it as she could only think of one person who this could describe. Her former teammate, Orochimaru, the man who had betrayed the village for his own selfish desires. Part of the letter finally clicked for her. The research center must have been one of his hideouts, but where could it have been? She now had more questions than answers but she had plenty of time to find out more. Since Tobi was finally cooperating she might as well try to find out a little more.

"What does the Snakeman want?" Tsunade didn't know how much Tobi could understand her so she might have to ask a few different ways. Knowing him it could be any number of things that he wants. If Tobi was a Senju then it might narrow it down unless he was created in a lab. Tsunade wouldn't put it past him to make a clone of her grandfather and his brother. His experiments had already crossed a line a long time ago and nothing was out of the question in his pursuit of knowledge. Tobi got up off the couch once more but this time Tsunade let him. He went to the door which led to the backyard and Tsunade followed close behind. She opened the door for him which led to a small yard. Tobi walked a few steps and then crouched in the middle of the grass putting his palm on the ground. He looked back at Tsunade, who nodded slightly. Tobi looked back at the ground. In the next moment a circle of flowers bloomed in front of him, growing in all directions. It went from a few flowers to over a foot in diameter. Tobi took his hand back from the ground tried to stand up and fell over. His eyes were closed as he was breathing heavily.

Tsunade was shocked beyond belief when she saw what he just did. Her mouth was left hanging open as she saw the flowers bloom and then spread. Once she saw Tobi fall over she immediately ran over to him to check on him. It only took a second for her to know what was wrong. He had used up all his chakra to make his little flower circle and fell over in exhaustion. She picked him up with a huge smile on her face. He really was a Senju and he showed it just now. When she was little her grandfather had shown that he could make flowers as part of his kekkei genkai. Unfortunately she would never be able to use those jutsus herself. Tsunade brought Tobi back into the house and laid him back on the couch. The only thing left to do now was wait for everyone to come back.

It was evening by the time everyone had gathered back at the Minato residence. Kushina had returned with Mikoto and were happily chatting about the clothes they had bought for him when they went out. They pulled out each set of clothes to give Tsunade a show as they dressed the sleeping Tobi in everything they bought. It didn't take long for the three of them to forget about the time as Shizune walked into three women dressing a toddler. She didn't know what to expect when she got back to the Namikaze residence but it certainly wasn't this.

After having a great time at the expense of Tobi Kushina had started making dinner for everyone. Now that Tsunade wasn't caught up in other's pace she decided now was the time to tell the others what happened earlier. "I got Tobi to talk a little while you were out. I figured I'd wait until Minato got home to tell what he said but I think he might not be as scared anymore. I also confirmed he is a Senju too."

"Lady Tsunade are you serious? He really is a Senju?" Shizune was the first to respond to what she heard.

"Yes, I think he left enough proof. Want to see?" Tsunade teased as she got up and led the others to the back courtyard where a circle of flowers was. "When I was asking Tobi about himself earlier he led me out here to show me something. It took him a little bit but he made those and used up all his chakra in one shot."

"He really has the wood style? That's amazing." Kushina replied while picking a flower out of the circle "Thanks to him the bald spot was cleaned up."

"Who's child is he? Kushina didn't really tell me much about him when we spoke earlier but I know about your family's history Lady Tsunade." Mikoto was curious but she also knew that there are some secrets she might never know. Tsunade looked to Kushina for a little help with this since it was her idea to bring in an outsider.

Kushina got the hint Tsunade was sending her but she didn't have anything prepared. She could only let out some sounds that made this even worse for herself in trying to explain things. At this time Tsunade decided to make her own decision since Tobi was already a senju in her mind maybe she could get some information from Mikoto. "Tobi was dropped off by an unknown person last night. They left him on top of the hokage's office but the weird part was the note left with him"

"What did the note say?" Mikoto's question was said with a bit of curiosity.

"I can't tell you most of it but what I can tell you was that there was some vague threats made to some people in the village." Tsunade looked at Kushina hoping for some help. She let out a sigh before thinking of what to say.

"They said that Minato and I would be dead within two years if we don't make some changes." Kushina explained to Mikoto what she needed to know in hopes of enlisting her help. How that the two of them would probably have a child as soon as possible to throw off whoever it was that wanted them dead. In the end Mikoto told her that she would tell them about anything weird in the clan but nothing to betray them. This was the best that she could ask for right now. She didn't want to ruin their friendship so she didn't ask for anything extra. Soon dinner was served as Minato walked through the door. Once dinner was finished Tsunade thought it was time to tell the rest of the room what she learned. She caught Minato up on what Tobi did earlier and then told them about Tobi being scared of the Snakeman. Once the word Snakeman was spoken the table became quiet. Just like Tsunade the rest had all come to the same conclusion. For Minato this was another thing in the long list of things he needed to find out more about. He used to be proud of how much his village knew but now it seemed like it wasn't even close to enough.

A week later Tsunade and Tobi were moving out. The Namikaze couple were getting back into their normal routine except for one major change. Minato had more on his plate as Hokage than he ever had before. From what little he could get right now he was sure the letter he received wasn't just some wild speculation. The two had decided to follow the advice that was given to them in the letter and maybe this might change their future. The investigation into the mist village would also have to wait a bit longer as a week wasn't enough to finish that job. In the meantime he had called for Jiraiya to come back to the village to ask him about myriad of subjects. Slowly but surely that scroll was changing Konoha.

Jiraiya immediately went to see Tsunade once he found out about Tobi. He couldn't be more happy for her knowing that she finally had someone to call family again. The two hadn't seen each other for a few months so they spent some time catching up. Once they finished with that Jiraiya started to talk about what he wanted to know

"I have to say none of the things I've heard from you today have shown up in my investigations. I've only been able to get a sniff of his trail or finding abandoned bases. If this child really was rescued from one of his bases it would be a miracle. I wonder how he managed to find someone from the Senju Clan outside of the village." Jiraiya shared his thoughts for her to hear.

"I don't know. I wish Tobi was a little bit older so he could tell us more about his surroundings before he got here. I've tried asking him a few different questions but he won't answer me. I think he understands me but he won't tell me anything. Maybe he doesn't know himself or he doesn't trust me yet. I mean it has only been a week" Tsunade sighed as she finished her drink.

"You know maybe in the future I can take him in as a student and show him some things." Jiraiya said as he looked into the distance. "I'm sure he'll have a great future ahead of him with you standing behind him"

"As long as that pervertedness doesn't rub off on him then I'll think about it. Tobi's too adorable to turn out as rotten as you." She said with a laugh. It has only been a week but she had already become so protective of him. Jiraiya enjoyed seeing her like this as it had been a long time. Their talk soon became one sided with Tsunade recalling how their week together went. She told him about everything he had remembered about where he stayed and who he met. Unfortunately none of this had helped Jiraiya other than letting him know there is still a lot he needed to find out about Orochimaru.

Days passed by quickly for Tsunade. She had made a home with Tobi and she was starting the process of bringing the Senju clan back becoming the temporary head of the clan. Minato had helped her greatly in the process. Kushina and Mikoto had been giving her a crash course in childcare as she needed all the help she could get. Tsunade made a promise to herself to slow down on the drinking and the gambling. She wanted to make sure that their future was bright.

Life, however, will not always be without pain and suffering. When she got home one night she found that Tobi had fallen into a coma as he slept in his new bed. She was a top class medical ninja but his situation was beyond what she could handle. Soon she had stopped drinking all together and focused everything on Tobi. She wouldn't let him leave her like the rest she was determined to do anything to stop it from happening again. Many people visited Tsunade in the next few days, doctors, medical ninjas, friends and acquaintances. None of it made her feel any better as Tobi wouldn't wake up. Doctors had no consensus on what caused this and any medical ninja was a lower level than Tsunade. Friends had tried to console her but it soon turn to concern as she threw herself into training. Kushina and Mikoto had stopped by often to try and lighten her load as they truly cared about her. Shizune had offered to take care of the clan duties that Tsunade had just started.

Days passed and Tobi didn't wake up. Days turned into weeks and Tobi still didn't wake from his coma. Weeks turned to months and months turned into years with no results. Soon four years had passed and Konoha was a changed place.


	3. Chapter 3: Reincarnation

I found myself sitting in an office chair in front of a desk. Across from me behind the desk was another chair, it was empty. I looked around finding myself in what looked like a random office a manager would have. Where the hell am I? Looking around didn't help me and I couldn't remember how I got here. As far as I know this isn't an office I'm familiar with. I tried peering out through the window but that only gave me more trouble. When I stood up from the seat I was in moving towards it there was this awful glare that came from it. Whatever was on the other side was bright and I had trouble looking directly at it.

I stared out at the view outside and I was shocked. There was nothing as far as I could see. It was just a white space and the only thing stopping me from being in it was being confined in this office. The phone on the desk started ringing interrupting my thoughts. I walked over to the desk and hoping that maybe the caller ID could tell me something. I saw the name Mischief on the phone with no number present. Great, a god damn practical joke. I pressed the answer button connecting the call on speakerphone. "Good Morning, glad to see you're being polite even in this situation." A feminine voice came from the speaker in front of me.

"Ah, hello. Can you tell me where I am?" I asked not really expecting an honest answer.

"Where do you think you are?"

"Somewhere I don't understand." Looking around left me with only one thing that came to mind and that's what I told the voice on the phone. Laughter could heard over the phone. It wasn't being faked as the voice sound like it was having trouble to breathe. I guess I'm amusing to whoever is on the other side of the phone. After calming down a bit the voice came back

"I knew I was right in choosing you. I think you can serve my purpose well if given enough time."

"That sounds like I don't get much of a choice in the matter." Again the voice laughed at me and once more it took a bit to calm down.

"Yes, you're right on that. You don't have much of a choice as there are only two of them. Accept my offer and work for me when I call for you or be sent back to where you came from to reincarnate."

"What happens if I accept your offer. I'm pretty sure the other option means I get another chance at life but I won't be me?"

"We could debate all day on the philosophy of me but I'd rather not waste my time with that. If you accept my offer I can reincarnate you into any kind of world you'd like. Your soul will be linked to me and I'll be sending you to do my bidding when I need it done. I can use you for a whim, a purpose or even sacrifice you. I hold total control over your life if you choose my offer."

"If I choose to accept how often am I going to be treated like your dog?"

"Honestly not that often, it's not like your the only one I've ever offered this to. Some of the other gods call them champions and send them out to spread their name"

"Great. I'm going to become a prophet for a goddamn lunatic. What kind of room do I have to negotiate with you?" I asked hoping that maybe I can control even a little bit of my own fate.

"You really are an interesting one. You don't even know what I have planned and you already want to negotiate? You have nothing to offer me and I have everything to offer you." The voice was speaking with a much more authoritative tone.

"You said that I have a choice where I can reincarnate to right?" I may not hold any cards but if I can create something from nothing there is a chance.

"That is correct"

"Then I have something to offer in a negotiation. You gave me some help earlier with what you said. I'd like to use that to make my negotiation. If I might be so bold to say I'm assuming that you are a Goddess of Mischief in some world?"

"Yes you could say that is close to being correct. I'm interested in where you're going with this as the others that have accepted this offer usually just ask me for things. I'm much more interested in seeing something unexpected."

I only have one chance at this. If she accepts my offer and I have an idea of where I am going to then maybe I can negotiate for some benefits when I get there. "I leave everything up to you Ms. Mischief. Wouldn't it be much more interesting to see someone flailing about getting into trouble because of the unexpected. I'm sure you're much more interested in entertainment than watching someone be born with everything already in their possession. Am I right?"

The line went silent for an uncomfortably long time. My stomach felt like millions of butterflies were ready to explode out of me and engulf this cramped office. A creaking sound could be heard as a crack suddenly flashed across the ceiling. In a moment the whole thing disintegrated right in front of me. The walls then fell down around me revealing the white empty space in all directions. I was panicking at this point, turning around looking for any signs of danger.

My first thought was to escape. Run away as fast as I possibly could because I don't want to die yet. I was trying to think of anything that could bolster my chances of surviving this. I watched as the office supplies and furniture disappeared one after the other. Like their very existence was being erased right in front of me. The only thing still standing was the desk, the chair and the beautiful woman who was now sitting on it. Seeing her sitting there only one thought crossed my mind. The voice on the phone had come to see me.

Holding her stomach she couldn't stop laughing. Tears were running down one side of her face and she had a beautiful smile that could enchant almost anyone. She looked at me and wiped her tears away. "I will accept your offer. It's been a long time since I've had someone try to pull a fast one on me. I like you kid so let's see what I want to do with you. Hmm, I think that might be right and if I shake that up a bit then this could be fun." The Goddess went on like that for quite a bit. I think she might have forgotten about me so I took a seat in the chair I was originally in. I mean it's not like I have anywhere else to go at this point. I felt pretty stupid because at one point I tried to look for a clock to see what time it was. After what seemed like an eternity to me Ms. Mischief was out of her thought process. I guess she has finished deciding on where I will go. I mean at this point I've basically accepted her offer.

"Have you heard of the anime Naruto?"

"I have. Is that where I will be going?"

"Correct. You will be born a few years before Naruto is. I will be giving you a quest/reward gift that will only be available to you. This way you can receive my instructions without me needing to interfere in your world. The thing your version will not always go along the same path as the one you know as I've put in some rather strange surprises in. Also beware there are times when I'll call you to send you to other worlds. Now that I've decided this for you what can you possibly offer me?"

"Am I retaining my memory for this? If so am I able to barter my memory for something? Can I barter some years of my lifespan? What are you willing to take from me?" I needed to know as much as I can to get the most out of this time. I won't have a second chance so let's be thorough here.

"You truly are wonderful. I haven't even told you what hell I set up for you and you're already trying to give things away instead of asking for them." A smile crept along her face as she continued "I will allow you to trade your lifespan for something of equal value in my view. I will allow you trade or give up your memories for perks if you so choose. However choose wisely as this will be your only chance."

"You said you will be sending me into other worlds. Do those worlds also include works of fiction that I have read?"

"You are correct in saying that. I already have your first true trial planned out. I'm sure you'll love it."

"I don't know how much you will want to take for this but I wish for a few things. Can you tell me what it will take to be able to do this?" I asked hoping that this will make it easier than just throwing things at a wall and see what sticks.

"Sure go ahead and ask away. I'll tell you what I think its worth and we can go from there." The smirk on her face made me think she really was enjoying this. I sighed and then gave out my wishlist.

"I wish to save Minato and Kushina from dying and not just in the way of having them die soon after. I mean so they can live a longer life. I don't need them to be protected by plot armor or anything like that. I wish for the leaf to know about Danzo before he can do any real harm to the village. The last one is more of a whim as I think you it might entertain you. I wish for the leaf to intervene in the civil war of the Mist. I'm sure Obito is already in control of the three tailed beast so it might shake up the plot I know considerably if that's the case. How much do I need to pay for this?"

"Hmm, it will be a steep price. I'll take all of your memories of your previous life as payment for the three wishes you have. You will still have your instincts and personality but essentially you'll be my doll. You'd be no different than just an extra character in a story you threw off the rails. Is that what you want?" She asked me with a curiosity in her eyes.

"No the last thing I want to be is someone's doll or toy or whatever you want to call it. I wouldn't take that deal if it means I lose my sense of self. I don't mind giving up my memories because they will probably end up holding me back in a world where I'll need to fight. What will it take for me to keep the memories of the stories I've read? How much of my life do I have to give? How about starting in a worse situation?"

"I think I can take that deal. Let's see Three years of your life for the memories of the story but you can not choose how I take those years."

"Make it four years of being in a coma and I do it as a child? It'll stunt my growth and will give me an early challenge to find a place to accept a child in a coma. It's not like this world is known for its charity." I was hoping that if I could take my time at the beginning of what I know of that world it would be better than losing three years when it matters. I don't know how she'd take the three years so I decided a coma was best hoping I'd just wake up and things would be different.

The Goddess was stunned by my quick counter with no hesitation. "I'll allow it as long as you spend a year as a lab rat of Orochimaru. This is my final offer on this negotiation. If you don't accept this then we will go back to square one and I will have complete control over your fate again."

"I accept. Can I know if there is anything special you want to see me accomplish? If not then I am in your care." I didn't want to have a sour relationship with the owner of my soul so I decided to accept.

"The gift will let you know when I wish for something personally. Now let's get you ready for your trip." The Goddess got up from the desk she was sitting. She walked towards me placing her hand on my chest and then she pulled something out of me. I look down in horror to see something being dragged out of me. I was too shocked to speak but I looked at the goddess only to see her smile. She whispered in my ear before pushing me backwards. "See you soon" was the last thing I remember before everything went dark.

The next time I was conscious I was in a room lit only by a candle. I was in a crib? A cage? I didn't really know. Think back to what I can remember, come on I can do this. I remember being in a room and making a deal. Everything before that just seemed hazy to me. I tried to get up but my body wouldn't let me. Looking around me I couldn't tell much but I was shocked when I looked down as I saw little stubby limbs. I was a baby so I guess a crib would be the best term for what I'm in now. I haven't panicked yet so at least I have that going for me. I tried moving my stubby limbs but I couldn't use them well at all. It sucked as I could only lay here hoping that I wasn't in danger. Maybe my parents would come soon if I cried. I thought about it but I was tired. My body needed sleep but I didn't want to fall asleep without figuring out what's going on.

It took a week for me to figure out I was dropped pretty much straight into being Orochimaru's lab rat. I only realized where I was once he held me in his arms looking at me like I was the grand prize in a fair. I still had no idea what he wanted with me as I didn't get a chance to see my parents. I also couldn't understand a word they were saying as they spoke in Japanese. I'm going to blame this on the goddess since I probably should have thought about this earlier. Time passed and it took me a while to figure out why they wanted me and treated me so well. I was a Senju as I heard that word a few times from the mouths around me. The day I found that out I was shocked to find out what the gift the goddess left me. A prompt was floating in the middle of the air in front of me. I looked at it and found that it was a prompt for a quest. [Learn how to feel Chakra. Rewards: Better quality food Failure: Extra set of experiments. Do you accept Yes/No]

I accepted as the baby food here was miserable. I was spoon fed some weird mush that I couldn't Identify and the milk I had was awful. I mean there isn't any reason to not feel chakra in this world unless your name is Lee. If I remember right almost any person in this world could feel chakra. Hold on if I fail these quests is there a chance I could lose the ability to use chakra? My worries quickly overtook my idealistic thinking and I began trying everything I could to feel chakra. It took me over three weeks to finally feel a bit of the chakra inside of me. It was faint at first but soon I could feel it throughout my body. It seemed like this excited my caretakers as I was taken better care of. The reward came too but I wasn't exactly happy about it as a lady came in to try and breastfeed me. I'm sure somewhere there is a goddess holding her stomach in laughter.

Over the next couple of months I completed a few more quests given to me. [Escape from your crib] [Learn your first jutsu] [Learn to speak before the age of 1] [Find information about yourself] [Befriend a caretaker] [Piss on Orochimaru]. The last one was my favorite as it's about the only thing I can do to him. The reward for it was being taught my first wood style jutsu by one of his henchmen. It was amazing, I learned how to make a little flower in a flower pot. I know its not much to brag about but to me it was the world. That pot was the only thing that belonged to me in this life. I started carrying it everywhere with me. A caretaker had tried taking it away from me but I yelled at him as much as I could. I'm a toddler how else am I supposed to force an adult to stop doing something. I made sure to shut up as soon as he gave it back so he'd learn not to mess with my flower. Some of the other caretakers thought I was adorable with my little potted plant waddling in between experiment rooms.

I failed my first quest almost 9 months into my time here. I did it on purpose to see how the effects of a failure would be handled. I don't think I want to do this again. The failure for this was an extra set of experiments personally performed by Orochimaru. I don't know what he was planning on trying but it ended up being torture to me. Genjutsu is terrifying, I never want to have this done to me again. I originally wanted to fail this because genjutsu didn't seem that bad compared to the other experiments that were listed in the failure section of recent quests. I was scared of him after that, I didn't want to be in the same room. Fear soon turned into trauma for me as I would always think I'd be put under another genjutsu. My fear overran my decision making as I'd try to run away whenever caretakers tried to take me out of my room.

One of the caretakers seemed to have a particularly nasty habit of using me to relieve his stress. He knew I was scared of Orochimaru so he used his snake summons to terrorize me into going where he wanted me to go. Sometimes when he was on duty I would wake up to a loud hissing sound beneath my bed. I was no longer a cute kid with a potted plant, I was a terrified toddler with a loaded diaper. I had trouble sleeping, I had trouble believing any of the adults around me. Then I found my last shred of hope as a quest came [Help the intruder. Reward: Being Kidnapped Failure: Left for dead or permanent confinement. Do you accept? Yes/No]

I have no idea how I could help someone strong enough to get through here by themselves. The only thing I can offer is the floor plan but I don't know if that would work. What kind of ninja would break into Orochimaru's base without knowing the floor plan? Eventually my door was kicked open and a figure I had never seen before came in. I was hoping it was a person I could identify but I had no idea who they were. Well there goes plan A of negotiating my way out. Let's try plan B then, maybe if I can find anything helpful they might help me out. I scrambled out of my open door and went straight towards the research center. I had an idea of where their main records were kept and where most of the people spent their time here. I have been here for over a year at this point. I grabbed as many scrolls as I could and tried to find the ninja who was going through the place. I passed numerous dead bodies including most of my caretakers. I was crying at this point since they were the only people I knew in this world. I found the snake guy dead in the hallway, I didn't feel bad about him dying. I made sure to kick his dead decapitated head on the way by.

I found the ninja in the great hall. I was hoping that the scrolls in my hand would work as a trade to get me out of here. I tried running to him but eventually tripped over my own stubby legs causing the scrolls to fly out of my hands. Tears started falling down harder as I thought I just blew my one chance to get out of here. I cried out to him to help when he noticed all the scrolls nearby. He picked up a few and then a few more. He seemed interested before asking me where I found them. I finally made the deal I wanted.

I don't know what kind of mission he was on but I was saved and dropped off in a village. He did nothing more nothing less for me, probably hoping some villager takes me in. I was hoping he'd take pity on a kid like me and bring me to someplace safer but this was all he was willing to do I guess. I had freedom but I'm still a toddler I can't take care of myself. My vision was obstructed by the all too familiar prompt of a new quest. [Find safe haven before entering a coma. Rewards: Continue living Failure: Death or divine punishment. Do you accept? Yes/No] This certainly didn't help me either.

The Senju Clan was one of the founding members of the Hidden Leaf Village. I think if I can manage to get to Konoha I might be able to find some sort of safe haven, an orphanage maybe? Maybe they'll take pity on me if I show them what I can use. Other than Konoha I don't know any other village that I can talk my way into let alone survive in. If I end up in some other village I have no idea what I'd be forced to do. There was too much danger and risk in going to other villages so I only had one choice I could make.

Whatever I do I need to do it quick before other people start checking out the research base I came from. I walked around the village the ninja left me in but there wasn't much I could do. I don't know where I am and I don't know where I need to go. I don't know anyone and I have no money to feed myself. I'm sure I can find some food to steal but what about a warm place to sleep. If I get sick I'm most likely going to die. I don't know how to solve any of these problems. That night sucked in a lot of ways. It was early spring so the nights got cold rather quick. The only food I managed to find was rotting garbage next to the one inn in the village. I snuck into their stables and slept in the pile of hay they had. The smell was horrible but at least I might be warm tonight. I closed my eyes hoping that maybe tomorrow would be better.

I thought I was in a dream when I woke up as I was no longer in a stable. I was in a house somewhere sleeping on a bed. I was scared, I was praying that none of Orochimaru's men found me in the hay. I didn't want to go back there. I only had a little time left before I lost control of my life. My surroundings were something I've never seen before. I looked all around the room making as little noise as possible I didn't want to alert who ever took me. If they knew that I was awake I'd lose my ability to move freely. I was trying to be as quiet as I could but let's be honest I can't even walk fifty feet without falling over myself and it's even worse if I try to run. I could probably waddle ten feet before my face met the floor.

After falling a few times the door opened and a woman stepped in with a smile on her face. I'm not falling for this again. I ran straight by her as fast as my little legs would let me. Surprisingly she got out of my way and I tried to find some sort of exit. I know it's pointless, I can't outrun a full grown adult let alone a ninja but I'm not going back there without trying to run away. I couldn't reach the door handle and everytime I tried the woman started to walk closer to me so I gave up and ran through any obstacle that could put distance between us. I ran under things, went behind others. I'd hide in cabinets if I knew there would be a way out other than being a captive. Eventually I met an obstacle that I couldn't run through. A set of legs that I ran face first into knocking me on my rear. Knowing that only being caught was left I couldn't hold it in anymore. All the emotions that I hadn't let out burst forward at once and I started crying. Once it started it just wouldn't stop, I felt so pathetic sitting there.

The two people started yelling at each other but I couldn't hear what they were saying. The man tried to talk to me face to face but I still couldn't hear him. Suddenly I felt some hands grab me from behind and I lost it. I'd do anything I can to make sure I wasn't going back and the only thing I knew that worked was struggling. Once I started struggling I didn't stop until the woman put me back down. I ran as far away as possible. I stumbled my way through while the two didn't follow me right away. Another dead end was in front of me as it turned out I'm back right where I started. After everything I did I hid under the bed hoping they wouldn't find me. I know they could easily find me but thinking they couldn't made me at least feel a little safer. I don't know when it happened but I completed a quest and the reward was food.

Another voice was speaking outside of the room but I couldn't hear what they were talking about. I could smell food being made and my stomach growled telling me to find a way to steal some of it. I was curious as to what was making the smell so I thought I'd try looking out of the doorway only to meet with 3 pairs of eyes. I got scared and ran right back to my spot under the bed hoping that they'd just leave me alone. From under the bed I could see a plate of food being left in front of the door. I wasn't sure if this was a trap for me but I couldn't refuse it so I waited a little bit. I crawled over to the doorway hoping I wouldn't see anyone trying to grab me. I didn't see anyone nearby so I grabbed and ate the toast I saw as quickly as possible. It was probably the best meal I've had in this world. A thought started to cross my mind that maybe they weren't trying to take me back. Could a random couple have found me while I was sleeping?

[Find a unique place to sleep. Reward: Clothing Failure: Nothing. Do you accept? Yes/No?] The new quest pop up helped me think that maybe they really weren't trying to experiment on me again. Maybe this might be the safe haven I needed? The gift I had allowed me to look at all available quest that were given to me. It said I only had two weeks until my coma. How did so much time pass? I was confused but I was too tired to think anymore. I decided to sleep in one of the drawers in a dresser as my unique place hoping that this might be accepted for the quest. I put the linens inside over me and slowly tried to wiggle myself back into the dresser so only a sliver was sticking out for air. I think I did a pretty good job and with that thought I fell asleep again.

The next thing I knew I was jolted awake. Some blonde lady was holding me with her face right next to me. I was so used to screaming and struggling when this happened that it just naturally kicked in. This happened a lot in the research center that it was now second nature to me. In the middle of my struggle I finally realized who was holding me. It was a face I remember but I don't know why. Just like with everything else I know these things but I don't know why. They seem like stories but how do I know that? I can think about those things later. I'll have time soon and besides I finally recognized someone. The person holding me was Tsunade and the other person was Minato Namikaze, The Fourth Hokage. I was in Konoha and I couldn't be happier which is why I accidentally let myself go. I swear I didn't mean to but I was happy that I might finally be safe. A few other people appeared in the door and I recognized them as well.


	4. Chapter 4: Changes

I was probably too excited as I passed out shortly after relieving myself. The next thing I know I was waking up again in a different room. Someone was holding me in their arms but I had another prompt in front of me so I quickly accepted it without checking. I had no time to be composed and read the thing. I thrashed about once more only to feel a hand on my back to try and comfort me. They probably didn't know but that only made me feel scared. A hand as big as your back isn't reassuring when you think you might be locked back up. I guess they finally gave up and put me on the couch. I saw that the one who was holding me was Tsunade as she bent down to my eye level on the couch. Then she started speaking to me "My name is Tsunade. Can you tell me who you are?"

How does she want me to answer this? I'm a Senju please let me live with you? How horrified would you be if you saw a baby smart enough to say that to you? That idea went right out the window and the only thing I could think of was to run again. I don't know what her relationship was with Orochimaru at this point. Had he already betrayed the village or was I an escaped experiment he was hunting down before I exposed him. I couldn't remember at what point he left the village and I wasn't going to take a chance in running away from him. For all I know I could have always been in the leaf without ever realizing it. I made a break for it but sure enough Tsunade caught me easily and placed me back on the couch. Next she tried asking for my name but I don't know if I've ever been given one. Most of the caretakers just called me whatever and some of them just called me plant after the pot I always held. I missed it, a lot.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Why are you trying to run?" Tsunade asked me. I want to believe that she's here to help me but I can't be sure. How am I supposed to get someone to trust me, a child that came out of nowhere. Even if I could get enough trust to where she would take care of me the biggest problem is how do I communicate with her. Do I pretend to act my age and be a innocent little boy or do I say what I really think. I can remember enough about the stories I've read to have an idea of getting her to help me. The way she was staring at me made me want to tell her everything she wants to know. Even though she's younger than what I know she still has that dominating air about her.

What if what I said cause fear? Disgust? Hatred? What if she didn't accept the fact I was a Senju? What happens if I was a clone that Orochimaru made? How would I be treated? In the end I stayed quiet and just looked down. There were too many unknowns for me to just blindly trust someone else with my life. I had to do something to get her to trust me but what should I do? I couldn't get away from here and we both know this. She put her hand on my head to try and reassure me. The problem was I know about her monstrous strength that could easily crush my head like a watermelon. Not to mention how petrified of people I am as this all came together and I started screaming as loud as I could.

"Hey, hey, calm down kid. I'm not going to hurt you" Tsunade took a step back and continued "Who are you afraid of?"

It took me a few minutes to calm down. Thank god she's not going to crush me was the only thought in my head. I started thinking about what she said and I didn't bother to hesitate anymore. I told her the one who I was scared of was Snakeman. Its one hundred percent truth. He really does terrify me and I think if I saw him right now I'd have another accident. Tsunade looked like she has more questions than answers in front of me. I thought about telling her that I feel the same way. Once she settled her thoughts she continued trying to talk with me. She decided on asking me why the Snakeman wanted me. I could tell her but I think the easiest way was to just show her.

I tried moving from the couch and to my surprise she let me get up. I walked towards one of the exits of the house or at least what I hoped was one. I couldn't reach the handle so I left that part to Tsunade and she helped me out. We were in the backyard of the house, I took a few steps forward and found a bald spot on the ground. I put my hand near it on the ground and looked back at Tsunade. She nodded to me and I figured it's now or never. I used the only wood style jutsu I knew and made some flowers. I was nervous so I used too much chakra and made a circle of them instead of just a few. The more chakra that drained from me the more the circle filled up in front of me. This was the most I've ever used up until this point as I saw a few flowers bigger than what I've made in the past. My last thought before feeling sleepy was how beautiful they came out. Standing up was hard and I eventually fell down while everything became dark.

A few hours later and I had finally recovered enough to move my tiny body. The sun was setting outside and I was being fed by four different women. I easily recognized three of them but the fourth could have been a few different people. Tsunade bent down in front of me once I was done being their entertainment. She spoke softly to me

"You told me earlier that you don't have a name right?" I nodded and she continued to speak. "In that case I'd like to give you one. Is that alright?"

"Yes" I meekly let out but since it was my first words to the others they all got excited. They were happy that I had sounds come out of my mouth that weren't screams or sobs.

"I want to give you the name Tobi. My great uncle had a similar name and he was a great man that a lot of people admired." She told me that with a great sense of pride. I nodded as I didn't mind the name Tobi. It'll be interesting if I ever meet the other person with that name that I know of.

"Tobi, do you know if you have any family?" I shook my head as I really didn't know. A frown appeared on Tsunade's face. She was probably hoping that she could meet my parents as they were most likely Senjus as well.

"In that case would you like to live with me?" I didn't nod right away. Is it bad that I surveyed the room before answering her hoping that maybe one of the other people would take me in instead. I nodded once the others in the room were waiting on me. Tsunade then picked me up and said in a boisterous voice.

"Tobi from today on we're family. I'll be taking care of you now so you don't have to worry about the Snakeman or anyone else." I tried to hug her but it was barely enough to call it clinging. I whispered to her in a voice she might not hear "Thank you." That was all I wanted before I would fall into the coma I knew was coming.

A week soon passed and I was now leaving the Namikaze house to live with Tsunade. She's talked a little with me but I decided to look like I didn't know what she was talking about most of the time. It didn't take long for her to refer to me as the little clan head which made her happy. I wasn't going to ruin that for her and besides it gave me a place in society which is what I needed. I found out that the quest I had accepted without looking was [Prove you are a Senju. Rewards: A home Failure: Being sent to the orphanage. Do you accept? Yes/No]. Needless to say it seems like I managed to complete that one in the best manner.

I only had a week left and I was happy to spend that time with Tsunade. She was nice and honestly not as big of a drunk as the show made her out to be. She barely left me alone and when she needed to go out Shizune was there to watch me. She seemed to like me as well. She'd look at me like I was the best thing in this world. I didn't know any wood style besides making flowers but maybe I could do something nice for her. I ran outside and she followed me with a smile. I put my hand on the ground and she was starting to scold me thinking that I might use up all my chakra again. I only made a single flower this time. It was the same one I had in my potted plant and I gave it to her.

Shizune had her hand over her opened mouth as she looked a little more shocked than I expected. She immediately accepted the flower with a smile. "You're going to be very popular if you do things like that when you grow up." She said as she picked me up. Shizune put the flower on top of her ear to hold it in place as she spun me around a few times. It was fun until I got a little dizzy. When she stopped I tried to hug her as best as I could to let her know I enjoyed it. When Tsunade got home Shizune bragged to Tsunade about how I made a beautiful flower just for her. I got scared of the look Tsunade gave me and hid behind Shizune's leg causing the both of them to laugh.

It didn't take long for me to meet the pervert of a teammate Tsunade had. He was a lot funnier in person and seemed to like me. I wonder if he can teach me in the future like he did with Naruto when I get older. I'm sure if Minato is alive he might want to train his son instead of Jiraiya but he might be too busy with the job. Jiraiya made a joke about taking me on his research trips which caused him to get punched by Tsunade. I couldn't stop laughing and gave him a flower and placed it on him like it was his grave.

"Isn't he adorable?" Tsunade asked him as he took the flower off of his chest.

"Yeah he is." He smiled before giving me a dirty look like he'd get revenge later. I waddled away knowing I got the better of him right now.

I learned quickly that people seemed to enjoy when I gave out the flowers I made so I did it as often as I could. Whatever can buy me the goodwill of the people around me. Shizune took me away a little later to let the two have some time to catch up. I could hear Tsunade talking about the day they found me. There conversation was all over the place and Shizune made sure to keep my attention. We played in the other room and as it was getting late I was soon put to bed. It was a nice night, too bad I'd be entering a coma tomorrow.

The next day I tried to be as interactive as possible with those around me. I did what I could to make a lasting impression on anyone near me. Act cute, do what I'm told and didn't bother them when they needed to do something. Soon I was put down for my afternoon nap which is something Tsunade made sure to do each day. It was then I got a prompt telling me that my time was up. The next thing I'd know it would be four years later and I'd wake up in a strange place again.

My biggest fear about the coma was being conscious the whole time while I couldn't move or do anything. Four years of just lying there still as can be with no one knowing that every second you're trapped in your own body. Thank goddess I didn't have that happen to me. I'm already a mental case as it is right now but if that happened to me I don't know what I'd do. To me it was honestly only a moment that passed in the blink of an eye. I felt like I took a nice nap and was woken up to another prompt. [Congratulations you have received the ability to travel through rifts.] I wasn't sure what rifts were yet but it also came with a quest for them. It wanted me to visit one and the reward was pretty simple. The next quest I received would have a better reward. After accepting that I could open my eyes. The room I was in seems to have changed. I was wearing some clothes that fit my body just fine even though its been four years. I was filled with a warm feeling knowing that I was cared for and to prove that point I was in a nicely made bed. The room was clean, like it had had regular cleaning. I could tell that I was taken care of and I couldn't help but cry in happiness. I did it, I finally had a home. I wanted to hug Tsunade as I'm sure she did all of this. She was treating me like her own child before I fell asleep. I tried to get up and that was when I noticed there was a little blond girl at the doorway. She seemed a little younger than I was but I didn't recognize her at all.

The girl in front of me went wide eyed as I saw her. She turned around and ran away as soon as she saw me. I could hear her outside the room calling for her mother. I tried to get up but I wasn't used to my bigger body yet. Everything felt off to me. I'd reach out but my arm was further out than I thought it would be. I tried standing up and fell over instantly. I never knew walking could be so hard. I finally stumbled to the doorway. I couldn't even walk one step without falling or losing my balance. I looked like a newborn deer trying to walk for the first time. I could hear a few voices outside now and they seemed pretty excited. I don't remember this hallway so I picked a direction to stumble down. It took me a minute to move to the other end of the hallway. I had to use the walls to help me so I could make my way down. I heard a voice behind me call out my name.

I turned around to see Tsunade next to the little blond girl from earlier. She looked proud of herself now and Tsunade was having trouble keeping it together. "Tobi? Do you remember me?" She seemed scared, excited, hopeful and distraught all at the same time. I turned around and tried to stumble towards her without using the wall. I thought maybe I could get to her without falling but I was wrong. I did manage to get one step on my own but the next had me falling face first towards the floor. Tsunade caught me and hugged me tight. I called out her name as she was squeezing me too hard.

"Tsunade can you please stop I can't breathe." I told her between the few breaths I could take. She was full on crying while holding me and the little girl was confused. "It's really you. You're awake. I thought you might never wake up. Tsuna can you please go find Shizune and bring her here to me?" The little girl nodded and ran away again. Tsunade wouldn't let me go no matter what. She kept asking me questions without waiting for me to answer. I lost track of how many different questions I had to answer. Shizune running down the hallway was what finally saved me from Tsunade's arms. She too had started crying and I felt the warmth that could only be described as family.

Everything moved quickly after that. Tsunade had picked me up in her arms and brought me back to my room. I made sure to smile at Shizune and Tsuna while we were heading back. "Tobi, I'm going to give you a check up to make sure you're healthy. You've been asleep for a long time and I want to make sure that you're healthy. I'm.." Tsunade started to choke up at this point "glad that you're awake. Don't scare me anymore."

"I'm sorry" I didn't know what else to say to her.

"You don't have to apologize to me. Just make sure it doesn't happen again. Promise me alright."

"Yes!" I made sure to look directly in her eyes so she knew.

"Tobi I'd like you to meet your cousin, Tsuna. She's a little younger than you so make sure to take care of her for me." Tsunade said as she knew her daughter was curious about the sleeping boy finally being awake.

I looked at Tsuna and introduced myself. She was following along with us not knowing what was going on. "Momma what's a cousin?"

"Tobi had different parents but they were related to me. Cousin just means you had different parents but you're still family." She said trying to explain how it worked.

Tsuna was trying to process this but I think her logic might need some help. "Does that mean he has to play with me too?"

"Yes, when he's healthy he can play with you all you want." I think I just woke up to a nightmare. Thoughts flashed through my head of a little Tsunade with monstrous strength chasing after me to play. Tsunade caught on that I might have been a little afraid. So she made sure to reassure me. "We're all family here and no one is going to hurt you anymore. I won't ever let that happen to you. Tsuna is a good girl so be sure to protect her since you're older."

The medical exam she gave me lasted a lot longer than I thought. Apparently she had studied a lot of new things in the past four years. Shizune was in the process of telling me that while I was in a coma Tsunade had completely changed. She was more focused than she had ever been. After having Tsuna she made sure that nothing will ever harm her children. I think she had done more than just study medical techniques but I can ask about that later. The rest of the day was the four of us spending time together. Apparently we had now moved into the new Senju Clan Compound that the two had bought. Tsunade had made the clan have a sizeable income by using her knowledge as power. Shizune managed the affairs of the clan and became the steward of the clan. The clan had hired a few shinobis as guards since there was now a chance that either of the Senju children could be kidnapped.

The next day Tsunade sent word to the hokage that I had woken up. The biggest reason she did it was to rescind the bounty she put out for finding someone to heal me. Once word had gotten out about my waking from my coma we had many visitors but Tsunade turned them all away for right now. She wanted me to get used to people first as I still had trouble around new people. The biggest problem I had was that Tsunade wouldn't let me do anything by myself. If she or Shizune weren't available I was within a guard's eyesight at all time. The captain of our guards was a shinobi by the name of Mako. I didn't know anything about him but apparently he was a shinobi from the Hidden Mist Village who had migrated here because of the war. The vice leader of the guards was someone I recognized from my memories. It was a blue haired woman who should not be here by any means.

I was terrified whenever she was the one watching me. How the hell could I feel safe when one of the akatsuki members was sitting there watching my every move. I was told numerous times by Tsunade and Shizune that she's trustworthy and she's here to protect me. It didn't help at all. I know how strong she can be and I was terrified. I tried to avoid her at all costs. It took me a month to calm down around her enough to not alarm others. The only reason that happened was because she was taken out of the rotation of guarding me. I spent most of my time with Tsuna since we were close in age and she made me feel like I could actually be a kid. Thanks to her I could stop worrying about how to survive and enjoy the life I was living.

It didn't take long for visitors to finally be allowed in. Tsunade wanted to be sure I was able to move properly and was healthy enough for me to see people. People might look down on our clan if they saw me stumbling about like a newborn who hasn't learned how to walk. She made sure to give me physical therapy and some light mental exercises to make sure that I could get back to what a normal child my age should be able to do. Overall I'm much weaker than a normal five or six year old as I can barely walk around the compound without being severly out of breath. I'm sure my muscle strength is laughable since I haven't tried that yet.

The first visitor to be allowed in was The Fourth Hokage, Minato, and his wife Kushina. They brought along their two children as well. The oldest being their daughter Akane Namikaze who was born just a year before their son, Naruto. Tsunade was talking with the couple and Tsuna and I were left to play with Akane as Naruto was still too young to move around on his own. It seemed she took after her mother quite a lot. Both children seem to take after one parent more than the other. In Naruto's case it was his father and for Akane she took after Kushina. We were still supervised by a guard and I only knew because Tsunade had told the couple about her worries.

A short while later other clan heads started to come as today apparently turned into a party to show off my health to the village. I had no idea but we were soon surrounded by many of the future characters that I would see in the academy a couple years below me. Most of them are too young to probably remember today but the only one missing would be Uchiha Itachi who was a few years older than me as he was already preparing for the chunin exams. I heard his father boasting about how amazing his son was. I honestly don't know how old I am since I never found out what my birthday was. I could only go by how old I knew other characters were. The main branch of the Uchiha clan also had another child as Mikoto got pregnant at the same time as Kushina. There was now a middle daughter in between Itachi and Sasuke. Her name was Ruka Uchiha who was now playing with some of the other children here.

I was honestly out of my depth here as there were too many people. I didn't know how to talk to them. I know I would be a disappointment if I ran away so I tried to stay here. Tsuna seemed to be enjoying this a lot more than I could. She was bouncing all over the place talking with every kid possible. A smile was constantly on her face, if I had to guess she has never been around this many kids at once. Most of the clan heirs were a few years younger than I was so I left them to Tsuna. I spent the most time with Hana Inuzuka that day as she was already in the academy.

After a little while I finally got Hana to try showing me some things she learned in the academy. I still don't know how to do anything besides create some flowers, maybe she might be able to tell me something I don't know. At first Hana seemed to be pretty indifferent to me but when I pestered her to show me something she learned something changed for her. I think she might be a little eager to show off. The first thing she started talking about was the basic things the academy teaches. She was only in the first year so I guess this is as much as I could get. Then she went on to talk about hand seals. She attempted to use a transformation jutsu but it didn't turn out well. She turned into a sickly version of me. A crowd showed up because I was laughing too hard. She seemed pretty embarrassed so I tried to cheer her up and thank her. I think failing in front of people really hurt her as she was about to run away from me. I didn't mean for this to happen. I grabbed her hand and took her to the backyard which was just around the corner from the courtyard we were left in. Once we were there I hopped onto the ground below.

"I can't do what you just tried but I can show you something I'm good at." Hana wasn't sure what I was talking about so I try to goad her into wanting to watch. "If I mess up you can laugh at me as much as you want then we'll be even."

This at least caused her to stop sniffling and sit on the edge of the platform. I don't know how much my chakra improved while I was asleep so I very well could pass out again. I should probably learn some hand seals for this but I think I might have to make them. I put my hands back on the ground and poured a little chakra into the ground imagining a circle of flowers around me. I wanted different types and colors. I think actual wood style might still be too much for me so I didn't go that far. Soon there were flowers blooming all around me and I poured a little more chakra in and the ring soon thickened around me. I hope this might change her mood. I stopped the flow of chakra into the ground to look up at a girl with wide eyes. She hopped down next to me and started looking at the flowers. The sobs from a moment ago had turned into a smile. She took a few different flowers to keep with her and gave me her thanks. I soon heard someone calling my name. It was Tsuna who was followed by a few of the other children. "Tobi you meanie why did you leave. You said you would play with us." Tsuna looked at me, then Hana and then the ground. "No fair. Why didn't you make any flowers for me."

She jumped off the ledge straight at me knocking me off my feet. At this point Shizune had come out of a different room and started to scold Tsuna. She complained about my health but she stopped when she saw the ring of flowers I had fallen on because of Tsuna. "Tobi did you make those?" She looked at me with a serious expression so I had no choice but to tell her the truth. Her expression changed to a softer one and then she told the other children to take some if they liked the flowers. The boys jumped down first and then followed by a few of the girls and soon the children were all picking the flowers I had made. Shizune came over to continue scolding Tsuna for jumping into me. "Tsuna you can't just jump like that into Tobi. He's still not healthy and if you hurt him again how can he play with you if he's sleeping again?"

"Okay. I don't want Tobi to sleep again." Tsuna had snot starting to come down her nose as she was just a step away from crying.

"And Tobi you shouldn't be using your chakra until Tsunade says you can. I'm going to have to tell her about this. Don't think gifting me a flower will make this go away." Shizune knew I did that when people were mad at me. I could only stare down at my feet in acceptance. She then put a hand on both of our heads before pulling us into a hug. "Now go play with your friends and have some fun."

Shizune then walked away after that and back inside to what I'm assuming is just an impromptu meeting for the adults. I looked up at the guard who was on duty and it had changed from Mako to a woman with long black hair. Another ninja who I didn't recognize. I have to say seeing the Senju Clan's mark on the guards clothes is pretty awesome. I know that people used to wear them as forehead protectors in the past but our guards still wear their Konoha headbands. Most of the flowers I had made were picked by the other children and Tsuna had finally got some. She was happy when one of the other girls put them into her hair. Hana came over laughing at me and I couldn't help but tilt my head in confusion at her. "What are you laughing about?"

"I failed but you got yelled at for doing nothing. How can I not laugh at you?"

I started laughing because she was right. I mean I know I'm not supposed to use my chakra but I did get yelled at because Tsuna jumped on me knocking me over. If I hadn't fallen on my circle Tsuna was probably the only one going to get scolded. Hana and I laughed for a little longer. The party was over a short while later and the children went back home with their parents. It was a pretty boring night after everyone was gone. I explored a little more of the backyard since I hadn't had a chance yet. The Senju Compound was a lot bigger than I expected. Right next to a frog pond was a weird light. I walked up to it to see a prompt in my eyes. It read [Would you like to enter the Mystery Village Rift? Yes/No].


	5. Chapter 5: First Rift

[Would you like to enter the Mystery Village Rift? Yes/No]

I selected no. The party had wrapped up quickly around me. The rift was holding my attention but I couldn't enter just yet. I didn't have time right now to explore as there were still people from outside of the clan hanging around. Besides I don't know what would happen if I got sucked into something like this. What would I encounter? How long would I be gone? Can I come and go as I please? I didn't want to find the answer to those questions right now so I turned around and went back towards the house. I was told by my guard to come to the main dining room to say goodbye to the few remaining guests. It was some pretty important people from the Leaf's government but to me it didn't mean anything right now. I gave my greeting and then retired to my room. It was a long day but it was fun. I fell asleep that night with a smile on my face.

I woke up the next morning when Tsuna came bursting into my room to tell me that breakfast is ready. I thought that there would be some sort of barrier between us since I've never been awake since she was born. I was worried for nothing because she is the opposite of Tsunade in approachability. I was just barely able to sit up when she made sure to jump on me knocking me back down. When I was finally able to get up she grabbed my hand to pull me out of my bed. I tried to shake off her hand but she wouldn't let go. "Tsuna can you let go of my hand now? I can walk to the kitchen by myself."

"Mom said I have to hold your hand the whole way here or you'd run away. She said that if I didn't listen to her I wouldn't be able to have any cookies later." I lost to food. I mean how else are you supposed to bribe a child? Being pulled to the kitchen we ate with Tsunade.

"Tobi, I'm going to assign a guard to start teaching you the basics of being a shinobi. You won't be doing anything other than the basics to get your body back to normal. Don't even think about learning anymore wood style jutsus. Right now you are still recovering so that will be the first step since I don't want you to hurt yourself again. Once you finish that you will be given a daily regimen to help build your strength. You're teacher will be Koko." Behind Tsunade was the dark haired woman from yesterday. Koko took a knee before the two of us before giving us her confirmation of Tsunade's order. I gave her my thanks and told her to take care of me. She gave a nod before flickering away.

I spent most of today thinking of ways to enter the rift. What would I need to take with me and how I could get there without being seen. I was thinking about getting a backpack for food but if I did that the guards would easily find out about it. Tsunade would probably think that I was trying to run away. I haven't exactly given her any confidence otherwise. Hoarding food is also a sign that I might not be eating properly so she would put me under more protection. A week passed by before I noticed. In the end I never could come up with anything decent. The best I could do would be to just wing it and hope for a guard's negligence. I decided to go that night once everyone else was in bed. I figured I might get some lazy guard on the night patrol and if that was the case fantastic. If I got caught then they'd just send me back to my room.

The moon was illuminating the night when I finally got up to go. I gently opened the door to my room. I didn't bother to close it and continued walking towards the back yard. I was surprised that the floorboards didn't creak once while I was on my way to the backyard. The night was quiet and I was happy I barely made any sound on my way. I hopped down from the deck I was on. Looking around I didn't see anyone so I made my way towards the frog pond. I could see the weird distortion from about fifteen feet away. When I approached about ten feet away I could see the prompt. I chose yes this time and soon my vision was twisted and I felt like I was being sucked into the rift I was standing before. When the feeling was gone I was standing in a meadow with a sun shining up above me. In the distance I could see a town. I looked behind me to see a towering cliff and a few steps away from me was another rift. I walked towards it to get a prompt [Would you like to exit the Oakdale Village? Yes/No]. Well that doesn't tell me much. It didn't take me long to walk to the village in front of me. Once I got inside it was like I was in a bustling country town. People were out and about all over the place. The amount of foot traffic seemed a little too much for a small place like this. Once I turned through the first street onto another one I got a little confused.

In front of me was the Oakdale Pokemon Center. Pokemon? Are you kidding me? This has to be a joke so I walked inside to see if it was. Behind the counter was a pink haired nurse with a rather weird looking creature. I didn't know how to describe it other than using the word round. This is real isn't it. That goddess did say I could travel to other worlds so maybe this is the first one I'm allowed to go to. Well at least I didn't get sent to something crazy from some of the other stories I know. I walked out of the pokemon center but then I realized I just walked through a field of potentially tall grass. A weird feeling ran up my back as I thought about the worst case scenario. All I could imagine was getting stung by a weedle and getting poisoned on my way into that village. I don't know how their poison will work here but I can't imagine a more pathetic death.

[You have completed a quest. Your reward will improve your next accomplished quest.] The prompt brought me out of my fear induced delusions. Seriously even a nice place like this could have its dangers. I thought about what I'd do if I faced a pokemon head on. My strength was poor, my stamina was worse and god knows about my speed. Running was my first option but I wasn't sure I could outrun anything that popped out. I mean I could try to distract them but I have no stamina and if something did pop out the only thing I could do was make flowers. It was a great distraction for the bug pokemon but it wouldn't do much for others. A rattata would probably be able to knock me out and I knew for sure it was faster since I've just barely gotten used to my body. Four years changed the size of my body a lot more than I thought it would.

I spent about an hour wandering around this village. I came across a few interesting things. The first was that there was actually a place to have pokemon battles here. It was called the Oakdale Pokemon Adventurer's Club. I didn't go inside but I could see a few fields set up like in my memories. There was a mart and a store for selling materials and fossils from what they called the Pokemon Dungeon in this village. There was also an Officer Jenny in front of the police station which I figured was just natural as I already saw her counterpart.

This village seems to be populated quite well. On the other edge of the town there was an inn as there were multiple trails leading out from that point. I didn't get a chance to ask anyone about where they led. I was too busy trying to visit everywhere hoping a quest would pop up. I was really hoping I could get a pokemon out of doing something simple. Once I finished up visiting places I ended up in the village's center. They had a small statue of a man in a victory pose in the center of the fountain here. The plaque had an inscription that was fading but it was to honor the founder of this place.

I was surprised that the village had a small park in the center which contained the fountain. It was lively as I could see a lot of people all around me. Some people were having picnics, there were a few stall vendors and some were walking around casually with their pokemon. This place was as peaceful as could be. Wanting to ask around and hoping to get a quest to start I mingled with whoever I could. I also wanted to find out as much about this place as possible so I asked who ever was willing to listen. Maybe I could find someone who would help me catch my first pokemon as well. I had no idea the horror that was awaiting me outside of the rift.

Koko had been on guard duty that night. She had decided to let Tobi do what he wanted and watch from the shadows after he had exited his room. He left the door open so it was possible he just had to go to the bathroom. She was more curious when he passed the bathroom and walked towards the backyard. At this point she had moved to one of the trees and watched him enter the backyard. She had no idea why the kid would walk to the frog pond at this point but she'd let him continue if he didn't go too far. She did have her orders to ensure his safety by any means necessary. It was the next moment that left her shocked. Tobi had reached out in front of him at nothing and was then sucked into the air in front of him. Nothing was left of him and she couldn't sense his chakra anywhere. She threw a Kunai into the ground to mark the spot he disappeared at and left for the compound. Her boss was not going to be pleased with her.

Koko knocked on Tsunade's bedroom door. She waited for a response and when none came she decided to wake up her employer. This was something she needed to do but was dreading. She had been trained by Tsunade for the past few years so she knew how strong her boss was. She also knew she did not like failure. She had nudged Tsunade a couple of time before kneeling to the side.

"Lady Tsunade please wake up this is urgent." It took a minute for her to get oriented. She turned to look at Koko and told her to continue with her eyes. "It's about the young master. Tobi has disappeared."

"What do you mean by disappeared?"

"It would be better to explain in the yard. I honestly don't know how it happened"

"Lead the way" Tsunade said as she got up without changing out of her sleepwear. The two went to the frog pond where Koko had seen Tobi disappear. Once there she told her account to Tsunade who was skeptical. She had no reason to doubt Koko after she had trained her for years. She was confused as to what type of Ninjutsu could kidnap someone like that without leaving a trace. The part that bothered her the most was it seemed like Tobi's actions were the trigger for it to start. The two talked about what possibilities could have happened here. The most common thought was that Tobi was under someone's genjutsu to activate a ninjutsu to transfer him somewhere else. She had Koko send some guards out to check the perimeter and report anything suspicious. She didn't want this information about his disappearance to get out so she left the orders vague on purpose. She sat down on the nearby deck with her legs hanging off the side. Her head was going in a dozen different directions at once. The only thought missing from her head however was him leaving voluntarily. It never crossed her mind once.

A light had shone for a split second causing Tsunade to look up. Standing where he had disappeared from was Tobi without a scratch on him smiling from ear to ear. She got up from where she was sitting with a blank expression on her face. Tobi turned and his sight landed on her. The smile he was wearing had quickly disappeared and he started to tremble where he was. Tsunade now stood before him looking down at him. Her expression hasn't changed at all since he had come back but Tobi looked to be panicking. Tobi barely stuttered a sentence out while being glared at by Tsunade "Please don't be mad." Mad? How could she be mad right now? She couldn't be more happy to see him back home without a scratch on him.

It had been a few hours since I had started asking around for any kind of information. I had visited most places for a second time here. In total I managed to grab eight quests to do things around the village. Most of them are chores for people and they'll reward me with some pocket money. Deliver a package for Mr. A to Mrs. B for 200 dollars which was the currency in the village. Help a Vendor clean out a spot to move his stall to. The quests were pretty easy and didn't take much time. The only unusual one that I've gotten is the one for the adventurer's club. I have to win ten battles there and the rewards and penalty are filled in with question marks. I wanted to get my first pokemon today but it seems like that will have to wait until later. None of the quests gave me a pokeball so I could only hope that the money I got would be able to buy some.

One of the more interesting things I learned was there was a school that would teach children to become trainers. I didn't think something like that would be here. The person who told me about it was one of the teachers and wanted me to join. It's the only quest I have left besides the ten wins I need. The sky showed that it was going to be evening soon as the sun started to dip into the horizon. It reminded me that I need to get back home as soon as possible. I don't know how long I had been in here but it was quite a while. There wasn't anything eventful on the way back. While I was talking to the villagers I heard that there was only three ways into the town. The cliff I came from was the least used one. The area surrounding the village didn't have any wild pokemon either so I was safe on my way back.

I was smiling since I was proud of myself. I did a lot of things in that village that honestly I didn't think I could do. I forgot my fear of people for a little bit but I think that has more to do with the memories I had told me that this was a peaceful place. I mean there was something off about it but the place itself was tranquil. Could I always come here? If I'm not strong enough when the story starts can I hide in here so I don't die? I should have it pretty easy until the sand invasion happens which will be when I'm fifteen or so. I have a lot to investigate on the rifts as I'm sure the goddess wouldn't want me to stay idling around in one of theses.

I placed my hand towards the rift and once again a feeling like being sucked into something came over me. It's going to take a lot to get used to that. That feeling was the end of my first adventure in this world. I was feeling amazing and couldn't wait to go back. I'd get my first pokemon, I wonder if I can get something awesome. I'd hate to have a metapod or a rattata to start with. Nothing could stop me from feeling on top of the world except for that. I saw Tsunade walking towards me when I turned to go back to my room. I started to panic again. My mind went all over the place. I should run, I should go back into the rift, I hope she's not mad.

She was now standing over me with a glare I didn't know how to handle. The best I could come up with was stuttering at her not to be mad at me. I wanted to crawl into a hole. God she was terrifying right now since I don't know how to read people anymore. She was towering over me and still not answering me. Finally she broke the silence with a single word "Tobi". Yup that's all it took for me to fold like a lawn chair. I straight up pissed myself right in front of her. To me her voice was filled with disappointment. Is she going to abandon me? Is she going to send me back to Orochimaru? I could only think of the worst possible situations again. On top of pissing myself I'm now a crying mess and the only things I could let out in a broken sentence was "Please don't be mad at me. I...can...explain...everything. I… didn't... run...away... I'm sorry." I could only do my best to try and repeat that to her hoping it might change the trouble I'm in.

Tsunade crouched down and embraced me putting my head to her shoulder. Holding the back of my head she whispered in my ear with an emphasis on the last part "I'm not mad at you but you will explain _everything_ right?"

My mind was blank. If I told her everything what would she think of me. Fear took over and my body froze. The sobbing I was doing was quickly replaced by shaking. I couldn't help it. Tsunade had shifted her grip on me to one picking me up. It was then she realized that I had an accident. My clothes were wet and the ground I was standing at had a puddle. I was still shaking and she tried to calm me down by patting my head. She spent the next hour trying to calm me down with barely any success. Eventually I fell asleep in her arms.

I had never expected Tobi to act like this. I've seen him scared before but never this terrified since he woke up. The only other time he was scared after coming out of his coma was the first day he saw Konan. It took me over an hour to calm him down and getting him into new change of clothes was exhausting. I've never seen a child that scared of anything before. What did I do to cause him to be that scared? It broke my heart to see him like this. I looked at him laying on my lap with tears still running down his cheeks.

I left Tobi to sleep like that while I tried to sort out what had happened. Koko said that he had put his hand up before disappearing. When he came back he had reappeared in the same spot without a scratch. He was smiling as if he enjoyed what happened to him. It was only when he saw me did his expression change. Why did it change when he saw me? What did I do to cause him to be so scared of me? I remember saying his name and it was then it seemed like he had a panic attack. Right he was saying something while crying. What was it again? Right, he was asking me not to be bad mad at him. Why would I be mad at him? What was he doing that he thought I'd be mad about? I also remember him saying he was sorry but I feel like I'm still missing something.

"Koko" I called out in a hushed voice. In a moment I had a woman kneeling to my side. "Koko you witnessed everything that happened when Tobi came back correct?"

"Yes m'lady. Tobi's expression changed when he saw you. When you called his name it seemed like he had a panic attack while relieving himself which I'm assuming came from fear. I don't think he has a great grasp at controlling himself yet." Koko recalled the details easily as she had hidden herself behind where Tobi had appeared.

"Can you recall what he was saying while he was crying?"

"Please don't be mad at me. I can explain everything. I didn't run away. I'm sorry."

"What do you think about all of this?" I was curious of what our relationship looked like to others. What was I doing wrong to him?

"Permission to speak freely."

"Please do."

"I think what Tobi did tonight was intentional." Koko looked for confirmation before she continued. "He seemed to be determined to go to that spot. I'm sure he knew that we would be watching him so he went when we might not be doing so. I know he can't sense chakra so he can't sense his guards at night. He was set on going to that spot where he disappeared. As for his behaviour on coming back. He seemed happy until he got caught by you."

"What do you think caused his change in attitude. Don't worry about holding back with your words."

"Its hard to put it into words. I'm not sure how he became like that for sure but the biggest change in attitude was when you tried to comfort him. He froze as soon as you emphasized an explanation of his actions. From what I've observed of the young master he's intelligent but I think it might be more than we've been led to believe. I'm sure he's scared because to us we've known him for over four years but if what I've heard is true then it might have only been a few months to him."

"I've never thought about that part of it. How trusting would you be of people after a few months?" How trusting would I be to new people after a few months. "Wait a minute, you said he froze when I mentioned the explanation. What did I say exactly?"

"You said that you would have him tell you everything. He froze when he heard everything. He's honest to a fault and anyone should be able to read him like an open book. Tsuna has lied to us before but I haven't even seen a hint of that coming from him. Its like he's working to win our affection at all times. He always seems to be looking for something when he speaks and in his actions. I don't think it's a manipulative behaviour but because he wants to be liked."

"Thank you Koko. Please have Mako get everyone back to their normal duty."

"As you command." With that Koko had disappeared and I was left with a sleeping boy on my lap. A lot of what Koko had to say was true. At this point I was debating between sleeping or waking up Tobi to have our talk. It was at a time like this that I missed drinking the most. I know I had quit years ago but it was at times like these where I felt like I needed it the most. In the end I shook Tobi awake. He was adorable when he was sleeping but when he looked up he stopped. His eyes weren't focused on anything. They were constantly moving about and his face started to show signs of panic again. "Tobi I think its time you tell me everything."


	6. Chapter 6: The Truth

"Tobi I think its time you tell me everything." Tsunade was staring at me but the only reason I could tell was because the prompts had a bit of transparency. In front of my face were four different quests that I could choose. The rewards and failures were all left with question marks. It wasn't like I'd use the rewards to choose which one I would pick so that seemed a little bit unnecessary to me.

[Enter the nearest rift. Rewards: ? Failure:? Do you accept? Yes/NO]

[Tell Tsunade about the rifts. Rewards: ? Failure:? Do you accept? Yes/NO]

[Lie to Tsunade. Rewards: ? Failure:? Do you accept? Yes/NO]

[Tell Tsunade your story. Rewards: ? Failure:? Do you accept? Yes/NO]

My fear had come out in full force. All it took was hearing the word _everything_ coming out of her mouth had turned my stomach upside down. I didn't want to be abandoned here but would she accept me if I told her the truth. What if I told her I might know some bits of the future? Would she see me as some kind of monster? What if she saw me like Orochimaru who changed bodies like skins. I took what little bit of courage I had in me and scrounged it up before it could disappear. I looked at her eyes which held such confidence. I opened my mouth a little but my tear ducts opened much faster. I wiped the tears from my eye before trying again. "If I tell you the truth will this still be my home?"

My words shocked Tsunade as I've never seen her this confused before. I wanted to tell her the truth but if it caused her to hate me then I don't know what I'd do. Once she collected herself again she grabbed me into her embrace. We spent a few moments like that and I had cried on her again. She sat me in front of her so we were eye level and told me "Tobi from the moment we met we've been family. I'm not going to abandon you and I'm not going to hurt you. In fact anyone who tries to hurt you will have to go through me before they can even think about it. I told the people outside of our family that you are my nephew but to me you are my son. You and Tsuna are my children and nothing will change that. Do you understand me?"

I nodded a few times but before I could talk she interrupted me "I promise not to get mad no matter what you tell me next."

I decided to accept the quest for telling Tsunade everything. If I wanted to live in this life I wanted someone to know who I really was. I may not know who I am right now but I want to live as Tobi Senju and not whoever I was before. I know in the future that I'll have to be at a goddess's beck and call but for the time that I don't I want to live here. Part of this was that I wanted to tell someone about the rifts and what it could do. The other part of me wanted to believe there were people who cared for me in this life. The problem was I just don't know where to start. Tsunade seemed happy that I was no longer trembling in fear or crying at this point. I took what confidence Tsunade had given me and used it to speak "If I told you I remember everything would you find that weird?"

"What do you mean by everything?" Tsunade asked confused

"I remember everything that happened before I met you but there was more even before that."

"How could you remember that you were only a toddler?" She asked me in disbelief

"The first day I can remember as Tobi I couldn't speak. I knew things but I couldn't understand others. It wasn't the language I remembered."

"Hold on a second. You can remember your time in Orochimaru's lab? How much do you remember? Did you have trouble physically speaking and what do you mean by a language you hadn't heard before. You were a baby." Barely any of what I told her had registered. I know I'm not explaining this well.

"I know I was a baby. Its just that I can remember from before that, before I was a baby. I don't know who my parents were or if I was even born from someone. I just woke up in a crib somewhere. The furthest back I could remember was talking to that Lady. She gave me a choice and allowed me to negotiate since it sounded fun to her. I don't know if it helped but I wanted to try. I had to give up a few things to get it done." I had said all of this in fluent english but Tsunade looked confused so I repeated it in Japanese. I felt so much better to finally say something about this. I hoped that if she could accept this I could talk about the other things that I wanted to share with her.

"Can you give me a second to process this. You're telling me that you met someone before you were born and made a deal with them? You expect me to believe this?" Tsunade looked at me with disbelief. I can't blame her but this was the expression that I feared the most.

"I don't which is why I was so scared on telling you and its why I spoke to you with the words from before I was Tobi. The look you have right now is the one that scares me the most." If I hadn't already decided on going through with telling her everything I probably would have tried to run away. My stomach was in knots and her expression didn't help me much. It told me that she wasn't really believing me. Deep down I still didn't expect her to believe me but I wanted to hope which is why I continued.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to." Tsunade quickly changed her expression and asked a question "What did you trade with that person?"

"I think I might have won if what I asked for managed to work out. I took a gamble and gave up most of my memories from my first life I think? I don't know its hurts if I try to remember anything from before my meeting with her. The only things I have left from it were stories that I could travel to. Actually that's where I went earlier. There is one in our yard I hope I can take you with me next time. The other thing I traded was four years in a coma and a year being a guinea pig for Orochimaru. I didn't expect them to all happen at once."

"There is a lot I want to ask you about. I want to know all of it too but what I want to know most is what did you ask for?" Tsunade was reaching her limits on what she could and couldn't believe. It was too big of a lie to make up and nothing Tobi did lead her to believe it could be as well.

"Let me start with something else first so what I asked for can make a little more sense. I gave up my right to choose where I would be reincarnated. It could have been anywhere, any world and any life. When she chose this world I knew about it because it was one of the stories I had read before. That means that I know some of the events that shaped this world. I asked to change some things but I don't know what butterflies I stepped on." At this point I looked up while thinking how to best word the next part.

"By any chance did you ask to save Minato and Kushina?" Tsunade asked me before I could continue. I paused as I didn't expect her to ask me that.

"Yes, I did. The story I read was named after the main character, Naruto. In it he was an orphan who had lost both his parents when he was born. I don't know how them living will change this but I was hoping that if I could find a way to Konoha that the two of them being alive would allow me to live here safely even if I was on my own. I know that this one has already worked out in my favor and it seems like their family grew due to it."

We both stared at each other for a second. The fear I had inside me felt like it was gone. I felt calm and in control for once. Tsunade's face was showing a plethora of emotions as she was thinking. I let her have all the time she needed as she was working towards something. She turned her head back towards me and asked her second question. "What does Danzo have to do with clans dying in Konoha?"

Once again I was stunned by Tsunade asking a question. Did the goddess really live up to her end of the deal? If she did I need to thank her the next time we meet. I had to think about this one a little bit before I answered her. Should I tell her what he does and if so how far do I go? While I was thinking about what to say Tsunade was studying my expressions. She could tell I was in deep thought but didn't interrupt me.

"I estimated that at worst I'd be an orphan in Konoha. I didn't want to take any chances about being kidnapped if I did end up in that situation so I decided to ask for a warning against Danzo. It relates to a clan because I should be about 11 when the Uchiha Massacre would occur. I don't think I could have stopped it by myself so it was two birds with one stone. Honestly stopping the death of the fourth should have also prevented the massacre but I don't know if something else would have replaced it" I looked up into the sky and sighed heavily "Uchiha Itachi would kill his entire clan sparing only his brother Sasuke. It would be covered up by the village but someone was planning it out in the background to acquire their eyes."

"Was that note left by you?" Tsunade had framed the question to make sure of her answer. She was almost sure that the note left with Tobi was his doing.

"What note?" My response was quick but I couldn't tell what it was that bothered her about my answer.

"When you were brought to the village you were left on the top of the Hokage's Office. Next to you was a scroll written for the Fourth Hokage with the 3 things for him. The first one was about the Namikazes and the second was what I just asked you. The only thing we didn't understand was the end. I can get you a copy if you don't mind waiting but considering what you've already told me you might already know what it is."

I looked at her then looked back down. I was trying to remember what happened between that village and the day I woke up in the hokage's house. I remember going to sleep in the hay but I woke up somewhere else and a month and a half had passed. The only thing I could think of was that the goddess dropped me off and took some payment of time. The other thing I could think of was that I died at that time and she waited until then and just dropped me off with a letter. Tsunade decided to ask another question sensing that my mood was changing but I stopped her before she could "I can't remember how I got to the leaf. I remember going to sleep in a stable and when I woke up I was in a bed. A month and a half had passed between the two. If you can remember some pieces of it off the top of your head then I can probably figure it out."

"We can talk about what you remember later. The note had something to do with what Kushina might like in the Hidden Village in the Grass."

"Oh? Is that all? Then its simple all you need to do is find the Uzumaki Mother and Daughter in the village. If they're not found then the mother will die and the daughter named Karin will be used by Orochimaru for experiments."

"Oh that's all? Do you know how much this would mean to her? To the village itself? The Uzumaki Clan has been wiped out and now you're saying you know where some of the survivors are? You're just saying that this is a simple matter." Tsunade berated me for lackadaisical attitude. I could only laugh because if I told her anything else more than that she would think I'm crazy.

"I mean isn't it just going there and recruiting them to live in Konoha? That seems pretty simple to me. I honestly don't know much about the mother but the daughter was an important character in the story I read. If it's true then my words should be a little easier to believe. If they aren't there then I'd suggest waiting as they might show up." We spent the next few minutes talking about the note that was left. I didn't tell Tsunade about the third's death and Orochimaru's invasion since at this point it might no longer happen with the fourth being alive. I answered any question she had and when she was satisfied she asked me if I could share this. I hesitated before telling her not to do it yet. I don't want to ruin the peace that we might get to enjoy in the next few years. I need time to become strong before I want to step on any other butterflies. When I told her my thoughts she was more upset that I was calling unknowns butterflies. I told her about chaos theory, the butterfly effect and a short story about it written about a man who stepped on a butterfly millions of years before he was born changing history.

Honestly, this has been the most fun I've had being here, being Tobi. All my fears were being erased by how Tsunade was treating me. The fear of having to survive on my own, learn on my own, finding shelter and food. Finding a place to get stronger so I can do the things I want to do. Most of my fears stemmed from the uncertainty of what my future would hold. If I was an orphan in Konoha I'd still have to watch out for Root. I was still afraid of people but I could trust Tsunade. I could trust my new family to protect me. It would take time for me to be normal again but I'm sure I can do this. I mean I really don't want to be stuck with all of my current problems for the rest of my life.

Once I figured out my feelings a surge of happiness came. I stopped my self reflection and started talking about some of the stories I knew. Tsunade happily listened to me spew about stories I could remember since it was the only connection I had at this point to my other life. In a sense I really was just a kid. I might be more mature but I had no experiences other than stories that I've read. We talked for a long time but I didn't want to stop. Suddenly a thought entered my mind about earlier and I needed to know "Tsunade, you said I disappeared before when I went into the rift. How long was I gone?"

"You were gone for a little more than half an hour why?" Tsunade was curious as to why he would ask that now of all times. He had just been spending so much time talking about different stories he can remember. Some of them were pretty interesting to her.

"Do you want to try to enter it with me? I wanted to keep talking but I was thinking about the time. Then I remembered that the time might not match up between the two. I don't know how long I was gone for but it was a couple of hours at least. I have trouble running which made me take my time exploring in there. I wasn't sure how long I was gone so I thought you were going to think I ran away in the middle of the night." By the end of my explanation the feeling of guilt welled up inside. Tsunade hugged me once more to comfort me. This time she left me on her lap and told me about how she thought I was kidnapped. How if it wasn't for Koko she would have run out of the village to bring me back. Hearing her words made me smile.

"As long as you want to be here with Tsuna and I. You're welcome to think of this place as your home. The two of us see you as our family and we want you to feel the same way." Tsunade took her hands back from the embrace she was giving me.

"I do want to think of this as my home. I know I'm not normal and I have a lot of problems. Sharing all of those worries I have was terrifying for me. I was scared you weren't going to accept. See me as delusional, broken or a freak. I mean sometimes I look at people and I already know how they've died or who's killed them. If someone like Danzo knew this he'd locked me up to make sure he could protect the village better. I wouldn't have any freedom and might as well just bite my tongue off." I was all over the place and my hands were starting to bleed from how much I was digging into my own palms. Why couldn't I just answer like a normal person. Yes I'd be happy to have a family and cry because I'm happy.

"No one is going to treat you as broken here. Sure you might not be healthy right now but that will change soon. I've been in the same shoes as you since I've already lost a lover and a brother. It took a lot to get over my fear of blood while you were asleep but I moved forward because I had a goal. It was thanks to you for giving me that goal Tobi." I couldn't describe how much her voice reassured me at that moment. None of the stories I could remember could tell me about it. Tsunade then brought her hands in front of me for a brief moment before moving them behind my head. She gently place a necklace on my neck. "This is a memento in our clan. I want you to have it now."

I knew what this was. How could I accept something so important to her. I practically shouted at her "I can't accept this."

"Is this something important in the story you told me about." I nodded as it was true. It was the moment where she truly started to change for the better. "Then you know how important this is to me and what it means to someone who has it right?"

"Yeah I know and I know what you think about its curse. It's not true as the person you gave it to wouldn't do that to you." I told her the truth. She thought that necklace was a curse that killed whoever wore it that she loved. Each time someone close to her died the necklace would be returned to her while she was in tears.

"Nobody likes a know it all Tobi. This is something I want to give you and I'm sure you'll find a use for it in the future. Now take it and stop complaining besides it looks good on you" She said as she smiled wide. Now that the two had a nice atmosphere Tsunade decided to ask something she was curious about.

"Tobi why are you scared of Konan? Was she in the story you mentioned? I planned on making her my guard captain in the future and she will be formally adopted into the Senju Clan when that happens. If everything goes well I was planning on having her be your right hand when you take over the clan in the future." Tsunade told me the truth about what she was thinking about for our future.

"Yes she was." I froze as I didn't know where to stop and how much to explain about her. "She was an S rank ninja before she was killed. She did a lot of things in the name of someone else which caused her to be an enemy of this village. Eventually the person she followed died and she died following their beliefs after that. She's not supposed to be here which is why I was scared. If what I know about her is true then she could easily kill me. I don't know if I'll ever become strong but I want to survive. That's all I've done so far." I made sure not to say anything about Yahiko and Nagato her two friends as their paths were probably much different now.

"You said she died? Can you tell me how?" Tsunade was probably curious about why I was so vague.

"She betrayed someone more powerful than herself and paid the price. She lost everything and it's possible that it was because of love. That's as much as I'm willing to give about her because there are too many things I don't know about. I don't know how she's here and it scares me." I told her nothing but the truth. If Konan was loyal to our clan and became my family I'd still have trouble believing it to be true.

"Besides her you don't have any trouble with my choices in guards?" I shook my head to her question so she continued. "Do you mind if I tell one person about the rifts? It's your guard Koko since Mako is the one I'm with the most."

"I'm assuming you want me to take a guard with me when I visit rifts and you want it to be Koko?"

"You really are a smart little boy. Today I can go with you but are you sure you can do it?"

"It's worth trying." I said as we both went to the backyard. On the way there Tsunade had summoned Koko and told her about what we were attempting and that we would be safe. She didn't bother to explain what it was as Koko soon disappeared after receiving her orders. After Tsunade finished up I put my hand out to accept the prompt in front of me and with my other hand held onto Tsunade. Soon we were both sucked into the rift and appeared at the same place when I came here before. The moon was high in the sky above us and it looked like dawn would come soon. Time really does travel quicker in this rift than the outside. Behind me Tsunade was taking in the surroundings.

"It really does look like we teleported. Where do we go from here?" I pointed towards the village that was completely dark. On the way to the town I started explaining about how I receive quests as well as its other functions. She thought it was weird but I told her it was the only way to use this ability that the person gave me. After that I told her about my time before I met her. I told her how I learned to wield chakra, how I learned to speak and how I was treated. I told her about my potted plant and how proud I was when I first made that flower. About how attached I was since it was the only thing I had at the time. I told her about how I got called plant by the caretakers after that. For the most part Tsunade had been cheering me up and thanked me for talking about it. Once I got to my time when things started to go bad for me I could see her clench her fists in the dark. It wasn't that I could see them but it was more I could feel them behind me. When I told her about how I escaped she laughed when I told her about my revenge on the snake summoner.

We decided to visit the inn I saw when I first arrived here to waste time until sunrise. I had explained to her about what I knew about this world but how I think it's different from what I know. I told her the one I know doesn't have a dungeon in it. It also shouldn't have this many different kinds in one area. When I told her the information I got earlier and that I earned some money she was proud of me. The hard part was explain it to her. How do I compare these semi intelligent pokemon to something she could understand. I could use summons who can communicate properly but in comparison pokemon seem a little worse. Sure there are probably stronger pokemon than some summons but I don't know for sure. I mean the easiest way would be to use chakra beast but I feel like that's a bit of a disservice to the legendary pokemon.

Tsunade continued to ask me questions until the breakfast was served at this Inn. The topics ranged from knowing more about what might happen in the future to asking about other stories I know. The sun was creeping up through the windows and people could be heard from the doors outside. We left the inn after a light breakfast. Once we were on the street we headed towards the mart. I had about 2000 in the currency used here so I could buy ten pokeballs. It seems like the prices here matched up with the game that I knew. We browsed through the section looking at all the available products before making our purchase. Tsunade seemed interested in the different types of potions and medicines that we're available. I looked at her wondering if she wanted any but she shook her head "You worked hard to earn that I don't want to take any of your money for little things like this. I'll find a way to make some money here that way we can go together."

"You really will come with me?" I looked up to her and I was excited. "Oh I wonder what will suit you. Hmm since we're Senjus we should be compatible with grass, ground and water types. Tsunade do you know what ghosts and psychics are? There are some with those as their type."

"Do you mean ghosts as in ghost stories? Then yes I do but I don't know what you mean by psychics. I can't say I've heard the term before." Tsunade had stopped her browsing and responded in kind.

"Be careful because physical attacks won't work on ghosts. You'd have to use ninjutsu or an elemental attack from your partner. As for physics they are able to exert force without interacting with objects as well as other strange abilities. I don't think we'd find anything that dangerous right outside of the town but it's better to be cautious." We finished up and I ended up buying just ten pokeballs. I wasn't worried about any weird situation popping up with Tsunade here. Walking around town Tsunade saw her first pokemon which happened to be a young girls bellsprout following behind her. I guess she had never seen a plant get up and run after a girl before.

"Tobi are all pokemon as strange as that one?" She asked quite confused by what she saw.

"I want to say no but there are definitely stranger ones than that one out there." I thought about how strange some of the newer generations looked. I used to laugh about it wit….my thoughts were interrupted by a searing pain in my head. I fell to the ground holding my head trying to keep myself from screaming in pain. Tsunade immediately came to my side her hands had already been covered in her green chakra. "Tobi! Tobi talk to me what's happening?"

Through my grunts and groans I told her I accidentally tried to recall something I couldn't. I didn't mean to do it but the memory seemed connected to something. I didn't know how else to explain it. I was fine a few minutes later but I was still being scolded by Tsunade for scaring her. The road out of town was fairly busy at this point as new travelers were coming in while others were heading out. There were two main roads leaving this side of the village. One lead to another city but we could only see the horizon on that path. The other had a lot more traffic as there were trainers on the side of the road. I could see many different type of people on the side. Some looking for a battle, others were enjoying the scenery and the most common were people who were looking to partner up for the dungeon. Lower floors held stronger pokemon but there were many mysterious things that happened inside. One of the more common occurrences on the lower floors were hordes that could form. There was the occasional rogue who could go through the routes in between floors. There was some other information I heard but I couldn't really believe it until I saw it for myself.

We reached the area known as the caldera. This area was the starting point of this dungeon and from here you could choose from three different paths. The deeper a person goes in the paths tend to converge. The entrances here each have a different group of common pokemon. The entrances were named after the most common pokemon in each area. The middle most entrance was the Rattata Fields. The one to our left was the Spinarak Cave and the right one was Hoppip Meadows. I left the decision of which path to take to Tsunade.


	7. Chapter 7: The First Hunt

"I'll leave you to decide which one we take. I don't know what's in each area but I can tell you what they're named after. Rattatas are similar to a rat that you could use as a summon except these ones can do some interesting tricks and attacks. It can evolve once but it does have an alternate form. Hoppip is one of the most useless ones. It can be useful when it evolves which it can do twice but it is very weak on its own. Spinarak is a weird spider and considering what our occupation is they could be very useful."

"Let's take the one with the rat, it was called rattata I believe. They are one of the most common summons for our village so let's see how they compare." Tsunade and I walked towards the route leading to the middle entrance. The caldera itself was large and the routes to each entrance were clearly marked. The paths were paved with stones and when necessary there were stone steps making it easier to move around. The entrance to the cave had a few people trying to get others attention. It looked like people trying to find others to go with that'd you'd see in a fantasy story. I got a sense of deja vu from looking at these people and decided I didn't need to think about it. I didn't want to encounter anymore unexpected headaches.

The inside of the entrance betrayed our expectations. We were expecting a weird cave like system but that wasn't the case at all. Tsunade looked at me hoping to find an answer but I didn't have one. In front of us was a massive valley filled with a large field closest to us. Behind the field was a lake and on the other side was a forest. On each side were some small hills and behind those were the mountains that caused us to lose your sanity. "We didn't go through another rift without you telling me?"

"No, I'm also confused how we didn't see those mountains on the way in. It sure is beautiful though. Let's go have some fun" I said already running down the stone path in front of us.

"Don't get too far ahead. It's dangerous out there" After scolding me Tsunade had a slight smile form on her lips as she too descended the path ahead. There were plenty of tracks leading away in different directions once we got down the stone paths. The most common were dirt trails that were beaten into the ground. We decided to follow one of those for a bit and we soon encountered our first wild pokemon. In front of us was a pinkish cat that was sunning itself on the path. I could recognize it as a skitty. The cat didn't have its eyes open as it looked to be taking a nap but I know that it never had its eyes opened much in the first place.

"That cat doesn't look very powerful to me." Tsunade said teasing me a bit.

"Its not. I know that we were probably going to find some small fries here but I was hoping there would be one I want." We both agreed to skip this one and continued on our journey. The path split off into a couple of different directions but we went with the one that would head towards the forest behind the lake. Pokemon who were compatible with wood would be the most ideal for me. Knowing how strong most of the ones I wanted were I probably wouldn't be able to find them on this trip. If anything I wanted to get Tsunade a pokemon as a gift for believing me. The only things we found in the tall grass in this meadow area were a bunch of pokemon that neither of us were interested in. We saw Rattata, Bidoof, Lillipup, Buneary, Yungoos, Patrat and Sentret. Some piqued the interest of Tsunade so she'd ask for a description. Often times once I told her more about their abilities she wouldn't be interested.

It took us three hours for us to find the first pokemon that either of us were interested in. In a clearing about a half mile off the trail we were using we found an Eevee who was sleeping on a stump. I looked at Tsunade and handed her a pokeball. She looked confused at me "I want you to catch the first one. Its an Eevee and I think you'd like it. It has the most evolutions out of any pokemon." Tsunade took the ball from my hand turning it over a few times.

"How am I supposed to use this? Do I need to do anything special?"

"I think you're supposed to throw it at them and they get sucked into it. It will roll side to side then you'll hear a click sound which confirms it works." Tsunade left the grass we were hiding in and threw the ball at the Eevee in front of her. The ball was thrown faster than I thought possible. The Eevee got startled when Tsunade was moving in the grass so it was standing on the stump at this point. The ball was too quick and hit the Eevee right on its head. It wobbled a bit as the ball rebounded off of it and was sucked into the pokeball. I forgot to tell Tsunade she doesn't need to throw it too hard. The ball landed on the ground in front of us. It rocked back and forth a few times before a red glow appeared and a click was heard. I think that poor Eevee might have a concussion when Tsunade lets it out of the ball. Poor thing probably has no idea where it is right now.

"Tobi does this mean it was tamed?" Tsunade asked as she turned around to me wondering what to do next.

"Yeah it does. I think if you pick it up and hit the button it will let Eevee back out." Tsunade did as I instructed and let out the dazed Eevee in front of us. Once the white light letting it out receded we saw the Eevee still trying to stand on its own. I think I was right so I took out a potion I had gotten as a reward from a quest earlier. The potion worked and the Eevee was now a lot more energetic. I was roughly six years old at this point so I didn't need to bend down to pet the foot tall pokemon. "What are you going to name it? Also I don't know if its a boy or girl. Maybe the pokemon center could tell us when we go back there?"

"If you don't know then I don't mind waiting it'll give me more time to decide. Can you tell me more about what it will be able to turn into?"

"Sure. From what I know there is 8 possible variations to it. In terms of element or types here there is fire, grass, water, ice, electric, psychic, dark and fairy. Each form has their own strengths and weaknesses. Some of them can learn similar moves but it will learn different things depending on its type. Most of the forms need a stone to evolve but some also use friendship or happiness as part of the factor. Two of them depend on whether its night or day to evolve. I wonder if there is any guidebook we could find in town. It would probably have better information than I do." Tsunade decided to leave the Eevee outside of its pokeball. Now that we had an addition to our team we walked back to the trail we had strayed from. It didn't take us that long since I was chasing the Eevee around having fun. I never knew how soft the fur on these things were. I wonder if other pokemon that had fur were that soft.

It took us twenty minutes to reach the lake once we got back to the path. It was more beautiful up close than it was from the entrance. It was a scene that you would see painted and the bridge that we couldn't see from the entrance looked like it belong in such a painting.

"Tobi this is a beautiful place. I hope you can understand that I don't want you to tell anyone outside of our clan about this place." She asked thinking about the potential this could have for us.

"I won't. I promise since I just wanted to tell you so you know I wasn't lying." I once again told the truth but this time I wasn't hiding anything from her.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore. I believe you" She placed a hand on my head and ruffled my hair. The lake was mostly filled with psyducks so we left the place to enter the forest behind it. I'm sure if we had a fishing rod or dove down we could find some different water pokemon. The forest had towering trees and very little underbrush so it was easy to walk through. We encountered four different monkey type pokemon with three of them looking almost the same. The fourth was a crazy looking red one so we moved on as neither of us wanted to have that as a pokemon. It was really creepy I wonder what type of person would think that it looked cute.

Eevee was running around still going from place to place. It would occasionally look back at Tsunade and whenever we had a break it would spend the time on her lap. I think this Eevee has stockholm syndrome. It wouldn't even look at me anymore which I didn't know how to take. I hope my first pokemon will end up putting it to shame.

"Tobi I want to apologize to you. I'm sorry if I didn't show you the care you wanted. I was so caught up in the fact that you were awake now that I neglected to look at you properly. I was so worried about how healthy you were that I didn't realize how scared you still were. For that I am sorry and I plan to make it up to you. The village and our clan has changed a lot while you were asleep and I'll fill you in later about those changes. In the future I'd like you to be the head of this family. I know you're a lot more mature than your age but I will not ask you to take on the clan duties before you are ready. I want you to have time to enjoy being a child you don't need to grow up quick anymore." Tsunade told me her honest feelings. Maybe us taking a break gave her time to think about what she wanted to tell me or she came to terms with what I've told her today.

I didn't know what to say but I knew what I wanted to do. I ran over and jumped on Tsunade to hug her. She didn't have to do any of this but I think this was the moment where I truly felt she was my parent in this life. She was no longer the same person I knew in that story to me she was something that couldn't be replaced anymore. I tighten my hug on her and enjoyed the moment we had. Speaking of which why has she never asked me about herself before.

"Auntie Tsu.." I stopped as Tsunade was caught up in something.

"Aunt, huh? I was wondering if you would ever stop calling me by my name. Thanks Tobi." She had a wonderful smile on her face. I don't know what she was thinking but I'm glad she looks happy.

"Auntie, why haven't you asked me about what you were like?"

"you already know about my past from that story." I nodded letting her know that she could continue with what she wanted to. "I wasn't in a good place when I found out about you. You and Tsuna have changed my life for the better and I'm grateful for that. I don't know what life would be like without you two in it. I wasn't sure I want to know what life would be like without you two. I know you aren't telling me everything that you know but you're probably doing that on purpose." I once again nodded to her statement.

"Would you tell me about it if I asked?" She asked still unsure of if she wanted to hear it.

"I could tell you some of it but I don't think you're going to like what I would tell you."

"That's what I was afraid of." She said as she took a deep sigh letting me out of our embrace. Her Eevee read the mood and started to nap off to the side. I sat back on the seat I was originally on. Her expression changed subtly as she came to her decision. Instead of hearing her voice I heard a rattle shaking behind me. I got off the rock I was on and turned to see an ekans only a few feet away from me. My body froze, my mind was blank as what I saw wasn't really an Ekans but it was one of the snakes from the research lab. The snake in front of me grew larger and larger. It was soon towering over me with an ear shattering hiss. The only response to the hiss I had was an uncontrollable shaking happening throughout my body. My surroundings disappeared and the snake's body rose higher and higher. It was at this point the world around me grew black and I fell to the ground.

While I was frozen the Eevee had gotten up and jumped in between the Ekans and I. Tsunade took her time to get up thinking that it was just a pokemon that had stumbled into our break area. She walked over to me but she realized that I was scared stiff now. The next second I had fainted so she looked at where I was staring. What confused here was that it was a pokemon she hadn't encountered yet. It was a purple snake with a rattler at the end making a hissing noise at the two. Rage filled her eyes as her fists clenched and at that moment she leapt at the snake. It took only a second for her to change the landscape. The ground below where Tsunade landed had cracked in all directions. It then turned into a crater as she punched down again and again. Her rage hadn't dissipated with only a single punch on this pokemon. She only stopped when there was a strange shape left of what was once there. She got herself back under control and walked to where Tobi fainted.

She had decided to call it a day and they returned to the village. The Eevee she had caught earlier tried to protect the boy for her. She gently pat its head and reinforced its belief that it did the right thing. The trip back was uneventful as the paths were safe. Pokemon would scurry across but they were too weak to do any real damage to her. She smiled when she saw the lazy cat pokemon that they encountered earlier in the day. Eevee looked ready for battle but was told to ignore it. A few people asked if they were alright as they returned to the entrance and once she told them he was just sleeping they would all return to what they were doing. The people here lived so carefree. It really was a peaceful village. Looking around she couldn't see any signs of war, poverty or anything horrible. Maybe one day Konoha could be as peaceful as this. She knew however that her home could never be this peaceful.

Tsunade stopped at the pokemon center on the way back. She went in and got Eevee a check up and found out it was a girl. She had decided on a few names back when they were resting in the forest but she wasn't sure of the gender. If it was a guy she was going to name him Kira and if it was a girl she would name it Yoko. Yoko liked her new name and jumped up onto her shoulder when she was released from the nurse's care. There was sometime before she though Tobi would wake up so she tried gathering some information on what kind of creatures were here. The nurse, whose name was Joy, told her that there are some brochures about the dungeon. She told her where she could buy more in depth information as the library might have an encyclopedia if she tried there. If she wanted more about the dungeon she could check out the adventurer's club that has maps and other useful items.

Tsunade spent her time gathering everything she needed to take home. She gathered some maps for the dungeon and common pokemon in each explored area. She heard some rumors which caused her to be shocked. Once the paths started to converge was a trial that you would have to pass before being allowed to lower floors. So far no one has passed this trial and the information on it was rather slim. In the library Tsunade found an encyclopedia that had over 800 pokemon. Some were listed twice in different forms and the more she looked through the more interested she was. Not wanting to do anything that would ruin their time here she decided against stealing the book. Unfortunately she didn't have what she needed to copy it down right now. If only Tobi wasn't so scared of Konan she could copy this whole library in a day.

She took Yoko with her and left the library. From there they walked back to where they had first come. She needed Tobi to be awake so they could leave and since he was still out cold she sat down against the cliff. Yoko crawled up onto her lap while she pulled out the guides she collected. The two spent some time getting to know each other as Tobi was still snoring loudly to their side.

When I woke up I looked around trying to find where that snake went. All I saw was Tsunade leaning up against the cliff petting eevee on her lap. Eevee was enjoying itself as it rolled all over Tsunade's lap to get into just the right spot. It must have received some brain damage from that throw. "Tobi you better not be thinking anything weird before we go home."

"Of course not auntie."

"Good. Just to let you know it's been about 12 hours since we've come here."  
"Okay. Are you bringing Eevee out like that?" I pointed to the fact that there was a displeased Eevee on her lap. She had stopped petting her when I woke up.

"I guess I should put her back in to her ball before we go home." She grabbed the ball from her bag. A white light was released from it and soon Yoko was back inside.

"I have to say you were right about this place. While you were sleeping I went to the library and that adventurer's club to get some more information. If this information is right about these creatures than they really are useful. Some are unbelievably powerful too. What I'm unsure about are these legendary ones they keep referring to. Why is the information on them so scarce compared to the other ones."

"Its because some of them are thought of as gods to those people. I don't know if that's true or not but its said they have control over certain aspects. Like how our village believes in the will of fire they believe in them as protectors and sometimes much more."

"Do you think we'll be able to find those here?"

"If I had to guess then I'd say yes. I wouldn't be able to come here for no reason after all. Why ruin the surprise though we can have plenty of fun here. I'm happy that my first adventure was with you" Being happy made me smile. I knew I wore my heart on my sleeve but for now it was fine with me. I knew that I'd need to be able to control myself better if I want to be a proper shinobi.

Tsunade put the things she had out away and walked over to me. I held her hand as we took the rift home. I still couldn't get used to the feeling of getting sucked into something. When the feeling was gone we were standing in our yard near the frog pond. It was still night when we returned and in a moment Koko appeared kneeling before us. "We're back Koko. How long were we gone?"

"You were gone for an hour Lady Tsunade."

"You were right Tobi there is a time difference." Tsunade said looking at me. "I wonder if we can acquire a place to stay in there permanently preferably away from the other people of that village."

"We have time to look" I responded from the side seeing how interested Tsunade was in the rift. "I'll let you two talk. I'm going to go back to my room." I wasn't really tired but I'm sure Tsunade wanted to have some time to settle her own thoughts. I checked on Tsuna who was sleeping with a toy in her embrace. Seeing her sleeping soundly I closed her door before settling back into my room.

At another place a skitty on the side of the road open its eyes. Rolling over onto its legs it stretched out after lazing about in the sun all day. It looked around saw that no one was there. It began to move into the tall grass behind it heading towards the lake in the middle of the valley at a leisurely place. A few trees started to cross its path here and there. It slipped in between a few trees before it changed. It was no longer the cat looking pokemon it had been it now looked more like a dog. The dog had more of a brown fur color than the traditional and the hair in between its ears had a blue highlight instead of the normal red color.


	8. Chapter 8: Tsunade's Long Day

Tobi went back to his room when we got back. Our talk gave me a lot to think about and there was also a lot to do because of it. To be honest I'm not entirely sure how to treat him anymore. Sometimes he's like a normal child and others he's resolute in his decision making. "Koko, go and personally get Mako to come here. The three of us will be discussing a few things tonight. I want the both of you here as soon as possible."

I went to my office which was in a different side of the building from the residences. Our compound was purchased with the clan's growth in mind. Currently we can barely fill even a single building but in the future I plan on this might not be enough. I didn't want our clan to suffer from not having enough space which is why we purchased land at the furthest reaches of Konoha. My office was a second bedroom to me at this point. After years of trying to heal Tobi I had collected my fair share of medical books and other scrolls pertaining to all sorts of jutsus. I placed the maps and brochures on the table that I had got from inside the rift. I placed Yoko's pokeball on the table and sat in my chair. Placing both of my elbows on the desk I went over what had happened with Tobi.  
Mako and Koko arrived shortly after I sat down in my office. I hadn't sorted out everything I wanted to yet but I had made my decision for what I needed these two for. "Mako, Koko what we discuss here tonight will only be between the three of us. It will be our clan's greatest secret and any betrayal of this information will be met with death."

"Yes" they both replied in unison.

"I'm sure Koko filled you in about our problem earlier tonight with Tobi?"

"Yes. I heard that he was found shortly after without harm."

"That is correct. Koko please go over everything that you've seen tonight so we're all up to speed." I had Koko give her report of tonight's events so Mako understood what had happened while he was off duty. Once they were done I started my part. "Tonight Tobi finally opened up with me. What he told me is still too much to handle right now to be honest. That boy has lived a tough life before he came to Konoha. I will talk about his past later but the most important thing is what we traveled through he referred to as a rift. The rift we travelled to is filled with weird creatures called pokemon."

Witnessing something is better than being told about it. I let Yoko out of her pokeball and she materialized on the floor between the two shinobi. "This is an Eevee and her name is Yoko. She is one of the creatures on the other side of the rift we went into tonight. The ball is a container for these creatures and I don't know how they work. Inside we can acquire more of them so hold off on asking about it. Yoko say hello to them."

"Eevee" The two shinobi looked confused at the creature that called out its own name?

"Yoko come over here and let them settle down." Yoko jumped over the table landing on my shoulder before walking around my neck to my other shoulder. She then decided to lay down there and let me continue "These creatures are intelligent and some of them are much more capable than our current summons if I can believe the information I found out. On the desk is a map and some basic information about the place. Please look over it and memorize it as I'd like to use the place to better the clan."

The two each took their time looking over things. "The most important part about that rift is time moves differently. Tobi and I spent 12 hours in there but only an hour out here passed. I'm sure you can understand how useful that can be to us. Koko you are to be an exclusive guard for Tobi. If he wants to go into a rift I will need you to escort him for the duration of the trip. This will be in addition to you tutoring him from now on."

"Lady Tsunade will we also be getting creatures like Yoko?" asked Mako. Mako looked a bit hesitant. If I had to guess it was due to lack of information on them. I'm sure he'd change his mind if he saw some of the pictures that I did in the adventurer's club.

"I would like that to be the case if we can use them properly but I would like them to be a trump card for our family not something to show off to the world. We already have enough people who covet the wood release we don't need to add anything else to it."

"When I am escorting the young master do I have permission to get my own if it doesn't interfere?" Koko asked with a bit of excitement in her eyes. She had been staring at Yoko since she had appeared.

"Yes and I'm sure Tobi will encourage you to do so. He still hasn't caught one that caught his eye. He's much more knowledgeable about that place than I am. I think he has his heart set on a certain one already." It was great to see Koko putting an interest in something that wasn't about being a stronger shinobi. "Tomorrow I plan on taking him around the city to see if we can encounter any more of these rifts. If there are other places he could find these at then there is a possibility of learning something that might not exist in this world."

The two both gave their acknowledgment in unison again. "I will also need to give Konan a few more missions outside of the village. I figured out his problem with her so I need to find a way to solve it. Until it is solved we will keep our schedule as is. Now let us talk about Tobi. He opened up to me and I came to understand why he has problems with people. He remembers his time being experimented on. He remembers it in vivid enough detail to tell me about it."

"You can't be serious about this. He was only a toddler when they had him. How could he remember that? I can barely remember what I did as a child let alone what I did when I was his age then." Mako retorted in utter denial of what he heard.

"Are you sure he isn't lying about it?" Koko asked just to make sure.

"No I can tell he isn't lying. Listening to it was one of the most uncomfortable things I've heard in my life. I only want this information to be told on a need to know basis. I don't want this to get out but I have to report this to the Hokage since it will affect the village." It was then with a heavy heart I told Tobi's story to the two. As they listened they too had a rage build up wanting to get revenge for him. When they found out that the entire based was wiped out leaving him as the only survivor it dissipated but they wanted to do something for him. It was a story the both of them were familiar with. They were both from outside the village who took Tsunade's offer. Trust and loyalty have been built up through a few years between the three.

"I have to agree with you on making it up. That is too creative for a toddler to make up and it does line up with some of his actions." Mako said as he took his words back from earlier.

"I sense you want to tell us something else as well m'lady"

"Yes. I want you to know he has an extreme fear of snakes to the point he will be paralyzed. It's a deep trauma that we need to be wary of. He fainted when we encountered a pokemon that looks like a snake. Thankfully nothing bad happened but it is something that can be used against him quite easily. We will have to work with him in the future to overcome it. I'm going to rest for a bit but before that can I trouble one of you to make an appointment in the morning with the hokage?" I asked ready to conclude this meeting.

"I'll take care of it and Koko can go back to guarding Tobi."

"Thank you and remember this conversation doesn't leave this room. If Tobi tells you things on his own that's fine but do not pry into him for any reasons. Do I make myself clear?"

Another reply in unison was the last things I heard as the two flickered out of the room. It was times like this I missed drinking after a long day. I let out a small laugh as I realized that he really has changed me. I think he was right that I'm not the same person I would be if I hadn't met him. The next time we go in with just the two of us I'll ask about myself in that future. I'd be lying to myself if I say I wasn't interested.

It didn't take much time for me to drift off to sleep and it was morning before I knew it. The sun was shining brightly and outside I could hear the sound of Shizune trying to get Tsuna to eat breakfast. Mako was waiting for me when I exited my room. "You have an appointment in the early afternoon with the hokage. He will be expecting you in his office at that time"

"Thank you." Today is going to be another long day. I'm sure Minato isn't going to make this easy on me. I should probably get some white lies ready to protect Tobi's privacy a little. We haven't taken care of Danzo yet so I can't trust anyone in The Hokage's office. After what Tobi told me of what he knew Danzo is willing to do I couldn't hold back my anger. Not only has he been manipulating us already he desecrated my grandfather like that. I can't wait until that old man is in front of me so I can pound his face in. Out of all of us I'm the only one capable of moving people in secret. If nothing goes as planned and the worst case happens we are going to have to get our hands dirty. I used to have a fear of blood but now that was long gone. I couldn't afford to let something like that hold me back any longer. I haven't told others so this should be able to be a trump card in case that old man tries to do something. Alright time to eat and then make spend a little time with the two before going.

Tsuna was bothering Tobi and asking him all kinds of questions. She was always curious about him when he was asleep asking me what he was like and when is he going to wake up. It hurt not being able to tell her when she could meet him. "Tsuna how would you like to start sleeping in Tobi's room from now on? He has trouble sleeping at night and I think you should protect him" Hearing my words Tsuna's eyes started to show excitement. "Can I really mom? I can really sleep in his room?"

"Yep and Tobi this isn't a suggestion." I said looking at the boy who knew why I was doing this. I don't want him sneaking into a rift in the middle of the night again and with Tsuna attached to him the guilt will keep him from doing so.

"Tobi, Tobi. Did you hear that I get to sleep in your room now." Tsuna had gotten down from her chair and jumped on to Tobi hugging him. She was full of energy and it livened any room she was in. Hearing her laughter and seeing her smile made any day worth living. Shizune and I sat down to have our breakfast and we chatted briefly about last night. I left the important things for later after my talk with the hokage. For now I told her that it was a false alarm as Tobi took a walk late last night. In the background Koko had taken Tobi to start his training this morning. Tsuna followed behind asking what they were doing. I told her she could watch if she doesn't bother them too much. If she does become a problem she won't get any sweets for a week.

Time flew by in a blink of an eye and it was soon time to leave. I took Shizune and a few guards with me to hokage's office. Inside the group was left waiting in a lobby while I was directed to Minato's office. "Tsunade it's good to see you. I hope everything is well with you and the clan. What brings you here today?"

"Things have been great since Tobi woke up. I've done enough tests on him to know that he'll be healthy enough soon. His problem right now is his lack of exercise so he's going to have to work hard to catch up to his peers. He should have enough time to do that before he enters the academy."

"That's great. He's a good kid and he'll have a bright future thanks to you. Now I know that this isn't what you wanted to come here to discuss."

"It isn't. I was hoping to meet with you and the third today but I didn't see him in the building is he around by chance?" I asked hoping that the three of us could talk discreetly.

"He should be with Jiraiya since he just came back from one of his trips. You know how those two love to catch up when they can."

"I do. Is kushina at home? I managed to find out some information on something she might want while I was out shopping the other day. If she's available then I'd love to tell her about it." Minato got what I was trying to say.

"Sure why don't I get everyone together for dinner tonight. I'd love to have you over if it isn't too abrupt for you."

"I'll take you up on the offer. Now let's discuss some business and we can leave the fun for later." Minato and I spent the rest of my time here talking about things regarding the Senju Clan. I made a deal with Minato that would allow us to send shinobi on missions every few weeks to make sure they weren't bored of guard duty. I don't want them to become rusty from not leaving the village. We spent over an hour talking about this as I didn't want to alert Danzo about anything yet. We all underestimated him and his abilities if half of what Tobi said is true. I'm surprised the bastard hasn't already performed his own coup. When our meeting was over my clan had actually gained something. I wasn't prepared for this but I guess I will have more time to myself before eating at Minato's place tonight.

I took my group back the Senju compound. Tsuna was quietly watching Tobi's afternoon practice. Which caught me by surprise, I didn't expect her to be that well behaved but I notice that she was trying to feel her chakra. In my office I explained the rest of what I wanted Shizune to know. I let Yoko out of her pokeball to show her proof and she had picked it up to pet almost immediately. With in seconds she was laying on her back on Shizune's lap asking to be pet. Ignoring my pokemon on her lap I went through my account of last night. I left out the biggest parts of Tobi's past but I told her more than I told the two shinobi last night. I was grooming Shizune to be my right hand. Hiding too much from her will only cause problems in the future. She was curious when she could visit the rift for herself and I think now was as good of a time as any. We could talk a lot more inside since a day is only two hours out here.

We interrupted Tobi's training when it seemed to be an appropriate time. "Tobi I was originally going to take you to walk around the village today. However I won't be able to do that since I have a dinner at the Namikaze residence tonight. Instead I'd like you to help me for a bit and Mako can you please watch over Tsuna while we're away?"

"Yes m'lady" Mako went over to Tsuna and held her hand "Let's go play a game inside Tsuna."

"Tobi I'd like for you to take the four of us through the rift if you don't mind."

"Sure let's go. Do you have Yoko with you?" I took out the ball from the bag and showed him. The four of us then moved to the frog pond. I wasn't sure if Tobi could take four people at once and I'm not too sure if he was confident himself. Once I could feel that horrible sensation come over me again I knew that we had been allowed through. Once I confirmed that all four of us were here I let Yoko out of her ball. It didn't take long for us to reach the town this time as Tobi was given a piggyback by Shizune. She offered to do it so she could ask him any question she wanted. The Koko and Shizune had memorized the map so finding our way through the town wasn't hard. We then entered the same dungeon from yesterday following the same dirt path. At this point Tobi wanted to walk on his own. He gave everyone two pokeballs for the chance that anyone saw something they liked.

Walking down the path we saw the same skitty from yesterday. It was sunning itself in the same spot as well. I didn't think much of it until I heard Tobi behind me "I can't believe that this lazy cat is still here." I don't know why he was so upset about it but he stormed off in front of us. Shizune laughed and Koko was looking around keeping vigilant. We reached the same lake as before. I was surprised that it took us nearly a quarter of the time to get here than it did yesterday.

"Excuse me young master but I'd like to know how to use the balls you gave us earlier." Koko spoke up from behind everyone and in her hands was the skitty from earlier. "I think this little guy wants to be friends and he is adorable" She said as she cradled the cat pokemon in her arms.

Tobi had an expression I couldn't understand but he walked up to Koko and told her about it. He then told Koko to hold the ball up near the skitty and to all of our surprises the skitty hit the ball on its own. It got sucked into the ball which dropped down to the ground. It made the same motion as yesterday and it was now the second pokemon that our clan has caught here. Tobi looked vexed now and we all couldn't help but laugh about it.

"It's not funny. Just let it back out and say hi to your new partner Koko." Tobi was having a bit of a fit about this. It was cute seeing him acting like a kid as Koko picked the ball up and hit the button to release the pokemon. What came out wasn't the cat pokemon we were used to. It was about twice the size of Yoko and it had black fur instead of the tan that Eevee has. Not to mention that this pokemon had blue highlights on its head and paws. It looked similar to the Eevee I had but it wasn't the skitty that she caught.

"Are you kidding me that lazy cat was a Zorua." The shiny Zorua jumped up into Koko's arms and made itself comfortable in her embrace.

Shizune was curious about what kind of pokemon it was. "Tobi what is a Zorua exactly?"

"Its an illusion pokemon. Its unique ability allows it to have illusions that are hard to see through. I'm pretty sure it is good at seeing through others as well but I'm not too sure on that part. When it evolves its strong and fast. It's about as strong as what Eevee will turn into when Auntie decides how she wants to evolve Yoko."

"Incredible. Could anyone see through its illusion?" Shizune looked around and saw everyone shaking their heads. None of us saw through this pokemon's illusions and it still has room to grow.

"I have to say Tobi you were right. Some of these creatures do have incredible abilities and to think this is just the entrance of this dungeon." It truly was a miracle being able to find beasts like theses as partners. Having these could help our shinobi survive much better in the battlefield. The forest was a lot easier to traverse this time as Tobi didn't meet anymore snakes. On the other side of the forest was another cave entrance that looked to be a way to a "lower" floor. We went through it and saw a valley similar to the one we came from. The sky was no longer clear and we had an overcast. In the center we had a few different lakes with an area that resembled a desolate forest. The land was flat there with few trees. The hills on the side were now forested. Behind the hills were more towering mountains.

"How does this make any sense? Where do these mountains keep coming from? Can we even get up there?" Shizune let out what everyone was feeling. Yet no one bothered to answer her. Tobi muttered an I'm sorry and Shizune quickly reassured him. Just like the other floor we moved down another stone path. We went to the center area of this floor. We occasionally passed people on the way who also had their pokemon walking besides them. Tobi could name each one and a little description for us. It looked like a group of adults listening to a child showing off his knowledge he learned at school.

Tobi listed close to a dozen pokemon most of which we hadn't seen. The one that caught my eye the most of the electric dog, Jolteon, that Tobi told me about. I couldn't tell how much power it had since I didn't have any comparisons but the confidence that particular one had was amazing. Yoko acted tough in front of it but she hid behind my legs after it had walked away. Don't worry you can be that strong too. Shizune saw a dog or a weasel looking pokemon with flames coming out of its back and asked the person where she could find one. The man laughed about it saying Quilava was his favorite and told her what she wanted to know. We talked with him for a good ten minutes before we were back exploring. In another hour we had made three more additions to our group. The first was a Nidoran boy which was caught by Shizune and then a girl who was caught by Koko. Tobi caught his first pokemon which was a Growlithe. None of them looked particularly strong but Tobi did tell us not to judge too much based on their current looks.

It took us a few hours to get back home but the trip was worth it. Tobi seemed especially happy with himself once he had a companion. It kind of remind me of the Inuzuka clan and their dogs. We spent some time in the village before heading back home for the day. A little over an hour had passed on the other side. I had some people prepare dinner for the kids while I prepared to head over to Minato's for dinner. After dinner Tobi had taken some pen and paper into his room to do something with what he learned from the trip into the village. He was the most active one once we visited the Adventurer's Club. If we had Konan's paper ability we might have been able to copy some of the books inside of the library. I can only wait until later to do that or get some money to buy a similar book.

It didn't take long for me to get ready for tonight's dinner. I went by myself and excused my guards from service tonight. I was the first one to arrive at the Namikaze residence. Inside there were two children running around with Kushina trying everything to put them to bed. Minato was left to entertain me as we could hear Kushina's trademark temper in the background. Eventually the kids were tired and Kushina had minute to catch her breath. Shortly after Jiraiya and Sarutobi showed up. Now that everyone was here we could start.


	9. Chapter 9 Tsunade's Long Night

Dinner was eaten while we took care of the pleasantries. Topics ranged from what the children were doing to a few of the new things happening around Konoha. Some gossips among clans were shared but nothing that wasn't already known to others. Once dinner was finished the real discussion started. The five made sure that they weren't going to be overheard even by the guards outside. Once Minato was sure of everything he spoke "Alright Tsunade since you called us here it means that you have something important to say."

"I do but I hope you know I enjoy your company as well. I mean the dinner was delicious."

"Let's get to it. I have to get ready to head out I found a lead on Orochimaru that I want to track down." Jiraiya said as he leaned back into his chair.

"I found out more about the note and the source of it might surprise you."

"Did you discover the person who left it here with Tobi?" Asked Kushina.

"No I didn't but I know who the one who requested for that information."

"Is it someone we know?" Sarutobi had put his pipe in his mouth after asking.

"Yes. It was Tobi, that boy has more surprises than you could imagine. He's a lot more intelligent than I think any of us could imagine for that age. He made a trade of information before he came here and he wouldn't speak about the broker. I just know he paid a steep price for it."

"Then you mean that he's the reason we're alive right now?" Minato had trouble hiding his shock. He had wondered who had saved their lives and wanted to thank them for their help but he never imagined it would be that scared little boy. "What did he use to pay? He was a toddler when we got that scroll."

The rest of the room was also wondering that as well. They all looked to me for answers. "He paid with his life. Let me give you some background on how I found out about this before I go any further. The short version is he remembers his entire life and the long version is much worse." I recounted an altered version of Tobi's story. The part I told them about him knowing the future was from an experiment that Orochimaru had experimented with on him. He used his "visions" to help find a way to avoid them from happening. He hasn't had anymore of these "visions" since he's woken up. The reason for the three specific wishes was to ensure his safety when he found a way to travel to Konoha. The next part was the truth which I didn't need to alter. I told them about his fear and his life as an experiment. I told them how he walked through a base filled with dead bodies and the only thing he was thinking about was surviving. The more I think about him the more I realize he really is a survivor. It wasn't until I was telling this part did I realize it. I finished up my accounts of his story and left out the most important parts about his ability to travel through the rifts and him knowing these "Stories".

"There were only two things I enjoyed about Tobi's tale. The first was the fact that all the people who had 'cared' for him are now dead. Tobi's trauma for snakes is so bad he fainted when he saw one in the woods yesterday. I had to bring him back after we took a walk together." Tobi lived a horrible life before he came here and there really wasn't much to enjoy.

"And what's the other? I can't seem to find much enjoyment out of that child's suffering." Sarutobi was fond of Tobi from his few meetings and he wanted his teacher's clan to continue on.

"The second was a story he told about his first possession. The first thing he owned in this life as he put it to me. A potted plant."

"A potted plant?" Jiraiya laughed as he had an idea of what it was since the little guy loved to make flowers for others. "Let me guess it was the first flower he made."

"Yep and it's also the reason why he's a royal pain in the ass." Tsunade couldn't help but smirk at the thought of what Kushina would say when she finished her story. "Apparently he would carry this potted plant around with him everywhere. When they first tried to take it away he started biting and flailing at the caretaker. Tobi wanted it back so he became a pain until it got back to him. Eventually the caretaker gave it back after Tobi bit a few times. The problem was the caretaker also hit back so he learned from it. The second time it was taken away he started to scream at the top of his lungs and wouldn't stop. They gave the plant back to him and he became calm. Eventually it became known he would go crazy if you took his plant so they stopped trying it. He had trained his own caretakers to stop stealing his things." I couldn't stop laughing once I finished. Soon the house was filled with it and Jiraiya was the first to speak.

"Isn't that exactly the same thing he did to Kushina so she wouldn't pick him up?" His words were innocent but the person who it was directed to had stopped laughing and glared at Jiraiya. Soon a second round of laughter was had at Kushina's expense. It's times like this where he's useful.

Getting the room back under control Kushina decided to change the topic since she didn't want to talk about her training again. "Let's get back to the scroll. Did Tobi tell you what was trying to be conveyed in it with more detail than what was written?"

"He did. He told me bits and pieces of what he saw in the future. What he saw wasn't exactly the best so be prepared. One thing he saw was the fourth dying due to having his child kidnapped. The only survivor was Naruto who would grow up as an orphan. Tobi wanted to change that so that the great Fourth Hokage was alive to protect the village from an outside threat.

The second one was about Danzo and his schemes for Konoha. He's been the one feeding Orochimaru information as they are cooperating on a few things. He told me in the future his eyes have been replaced with sharingans from the Uchiha clan and his arm has cells from my grandfather. Tobi told me that isn't the worst thing either of them have done but it should be enough for us to find a link to get rid of Danzo."

"You mean to tell me that Danzo has stolen a Uchiha's eye? How the hell does he expect that to work and not have them kill him on the spot."

"That's simple and I had the same question. Tobi called it the Uchiha massacre as they were all killed in a single night."

Jiraiya slammed his hands on the table "What do you mean in a single night?"

"Exactly as I said. Tobi said they were killed by a Uchiha under the orders from Danzo and the mission was sanctioned by the third. He warned me I wasn't going to like what I heard when he started. I couldn't have been more wrong thinking how bad could it be."

"I'd never sanction something like that." Sarutobi was irate as he felt he was being blamed for something he'd never do.

"I thought the same which is why I asked Tobi if he could tell me a little more about it. The Uchiha were blamed for the deaths caused by The Nine Tailed Fox. Apparently a sharingan can control the beasts and that was how you died Minato. The Uchiha were blamed for the death of the fourth and all of the villagers. It drove the clan into a corner and a certain someone whispered in their ears. One Uchiha killed the rest to prevent a rebellion spearheaded by them. To protect his village that man killed his clan leaving only one survivor."

The room was blanketed in silence. Everyone looked at each other and then back at me like I had all the answers. "Tobi didn't tell me everything but he did tell me that there are worse events in our future. He told me he needs to get stronger to change the things he wants to. It's hard to imagine but I can only believe in his words. Oh and Kushina the post script from the scroll is likely information about two other Uzumakis. Tobi said that one of them will die soon if she isn't rescued while the other will be taken in by Orochimaru."

Minato looked at his wife who had started to tear up from her words. "There really are survivors? I'm not the last one?" She let out the tears that she had been holding back for so long. Wiping her tears away she smiled "I really do owe that little rascal if it's true. I'll take the trip myself and Minato this isn't a discussion."

"If that's what you want to do I won't stop you just bring a team with you. I don't want you to travel alone. Sarutobi please don't beat yourself up over something that you haven't done. We still have time to stop Danzo and we need to start planning for his takedown as soon as possible. This is no longer at the point of suspicion we need to act to remove him. I don't care if we don't have the evidence. Speaking of which why did Tobi include Danzo?"

"Its because he expected to be here as an orphan. What is the easiest way to train people to be loyal to you?"

"Its by kidnapping orphans." Jiraiya answered. "That means he's possibly doing that now. At least this might lead to something. I'll start investigating this tomorrow besides I can always put off my trip who knows maybe Tobi is what I've been looking for."

"Tsunade why didn't you bring Tobi so he could tell us this in person?" Sarutobi asked as she was curious why the little guy wasn't here if this is all from him.

"I left him home since I want him to be a kid. He's had enough of worrying about how to survive. I told him earlier that I plan on making him the Senju Clan Head in the future and until then to leave things to me. Ever since meeting him I've been dreaming big about the future. I want to see it myself so I'm going to do everything he can't do now." I said as each word had more and more weight behind it. I believed in what I said and I do want to see how he will shape the future.

"I'm glad for you Tsunade. You've truly moved on from the past and are no longer being dragged down by it. I can't tell you how proud I am of you Tsunade." Sarutobi had placed his pipe on the table he was close to losing his calm.

"Thank you Sensei. You don't know how much I appreciate your words."

"You've changed for the better. Those children of you have done more than I could have imagined for you." Jiraiya exclaimed. "I couldn't imagine the you if Tobi and Tsuna weren't around."

I let out a long sigh. "Tobi asked me why I haven't asked about my future. To be honest I was scared of knowing but he told me something that I think you should all take to heart as well. 'You aren't the same person I saw. The two of you have made different decisions that lead to different places'."

A loud boisterous laugh could be heard from the redhead across the table. "You're right Tsunade. That brat really is smarter than any of us thought. We've already proved that we can change the future so why can't we shape it the way we want to?"

"Kushina makes a good point. Let's do this right and make the future we want to see. First we'll take care of Danzo. Second we'll need to end this war in the Mist. We'll do this one step at a time. I ask for each of your help in this." Minato decided now was the time to take charge. We were each assigned a task from him. Mine was to lend people if need be since Minato couldn't trust the people he worked with. If we found evidence would act in a month at the earliest. We needed time to prepare and investigate a few things we learned from Tobi. Once we finished our discussion on Danzo we moved to the ongoing war in the Mist.

"Sarutobi do you think the person with the sharingan could control a kage?"

"It's possible I think. If we could ask a Uchiha about it then we would have a better idea about it. If they can control a Kage with a genjutsu then it might explain the aggressive movements we've seen in recent months. Things have escalated a lot more."

Tobi also told me that it was possible for a controlled tailed beast to control its host its not that I don't trust him but he himself wasn't sure if that was true. "I don't know if its reliable and someone else might be able to correct me if I'm wrong. Tobi told me that the Mizukage is a jinchuuriki and that the beast was being controlled before being sealed in him. This allowed the caster to control both of them. He didn't seem too sure of himself but it might be worth it to investigate. Someone with a dojutsu, preferably the byakugan, could probably find out if its true."

"Hmm." Sarutobi took his time before responding. He was thinking about what I had just said. "It does explain the weird aggressive nature of the Mizukage's forces in the war if he's being controlled. We've already been pushed back to the point where we might have to think about pulling out entirely. Ever since that kunoichi Mei Terumi joined with the Mizukage's faction the tide has been in their favor. We've evacuated most of the non essential fighting forces of the clans since she had joined their side. I think if things go as they are we should pull out the clans so they don't lose all of their fighting forces. Over half of them have sent some of their members here in case the war gets any worse. I hate to say that we've gained from that but it's true. I believe that we have lost this war. Out of the 20 jonin I have sent there 8 have already been killed in action. The numbers are worse for the chunins."

"Can you make gathering information on Mizukage the top priority in the time we have left there?" Minato asked since he knew that they were lacking manpower.

"I can but we're not exactly doing well there. I think we should cut our losses and clean our own house. We can help them regain their land in the future right now we have too many enemies to lend anymore strength there."

It was late in the night when our meeting ended. Sarutobi and Jiraiya left before I did as I stayed behind to set up some times for Tsuna and Akane to play together. It would be good for her to make some friends of her own. The walk back to the Senju compound wasn't too long. In the shadows ahead of me was a figure. "Tsunade I didn't want to ask in front of the others. Are you overlooking anything because of your relationship with him?" Jiraiya was unusually serious about this. "You know what I've been looking for all this time. I have a hard time believing a child is this intelligent."

Jiraiya stepped out into the street blocking my path. His figure in the light showed him without his joking expressions. "Are you absolutely sure that you can trust him? This isn't some storybook we're living in where everything will go our way because we believe in ourselves."

"This isn't like you. Did what you hear tonight change how you view things? Or do you think he's your prophesied child?" Jiraiya's questions weren't that much of a surprise to me as I expected it to happen while we were discussing this. What did surprise me was Jiraiya's serious attitude about this. I haven't seen this side since Orochimaru betrayed the Village.

"I'm serious about this Tsunade. There is too much at stake to leave this in the hands of a child. If you won't let me talk with him then I will use force to do so. It's not something I want to do but if it prevents Konoha falling into a civil war then I will do it. I don't want to see this village burn itself to the ground." He wasn't kidding around anymore. His voice was firm and his eyes had a conviction in them that I haven't seen since that day.

"If I say you can't?" I said teasing him.

"Don't force me to do this?" He shouted as he got into a stance ready for a fight.

I cracked my knuckles and started to stretch. "Do you think that after all this time you are a match for me anymore? I won't let anyone take my family away from me again. This includes even you Jiraiya." I dropped the coat that I was wearing to the ground. Even though this is in the middle of the village I wasn't going to back down. I'm no longer how I was in the past, I would no longer allow anyone to talk about my family that way.

"It really did come down to this. You really will put that child before the sake of this village."

"Yes I will. I told him that I would protect him." My voice had a weight to it. Power felt like it was flowing through me more so than usual. Is this what it feels like to fight for something you truly believe in? "I told him he doesn't have to worry that I will be there for him. Are you going to make me a liar Jiraiya?"

"To protect the peace? Then yes I will. I will do what is necessary"  
The time for us to talk was over. I moved first, in a split second I closed the gap between the two of us. I punched straight ahead with chakra flowing through my whole body. Jiraiya dodged to the right and a huge hole appeared on the tree behind him. He's gotten faster since we last sparred. Jiraiya retreated a bit but he had a smile on his face.

"They weren't kidding when they said you've been training. I haven't seen you throw a punch that sharp in a long time."

Once again I rushed ahead. This time I threw more than one punch at him. He dodged my first to the left this time and I pursued him. I threw two more that missed their mark. He dodged with what looked to be minimal effort. Finally I threw a low kick which caught him off guard. I had mostly relied on my fist before but now I tried to be more balanced in my taijutsu. Jiraiya had lost his balance and I took my chance. I slammed my fist into his stomach with enough strength to end this right now. Smoke appeared when my fist obliterated the log he had substituted with. I charged through and once again assaulted him. He was no longer trying to block my fists. He was carefully parrying my attacks and still couldn't counter my offensive.  
I intentionally left an opening after a large punch which he didn't bite on. He's grown used to battles after so many years on the road. He's gotten stronger than I remember and I felt sick that I wasted so much of my time wallowing in the past. We started another round but this time Jiraiya was the one to start it. He's improve his taijutsu again he must been training with those damn frogs again. I dodged one of his punches by a hair's width and the next thing I knew I was against a tree. How did that happen? Whatever I can think about that later. I got up from the tree I made an indention in. I cracked my neck to show off a little "I don't know what that was Jiraiya but the tricks you show to girls in those clubs won't impress me." This time I wasn't going to hold back. I'll show him that I'm no longer messing around.

The next round started with exchanging blows. A punch thrown would be block and countered. A kick would be dodged and returned with another attack. I was starting to get frustrated that I haven't even landed a hit on him. It was time to change that. I was starting to overwhelm him in our exchanges so he backed off to get some space. It was then that I rushed forward once more. This time I wasn't aiming for him. I intentionally missed wide and my punch landed on the ground causing a crater to appear. Jiraiya's face had an expression of shock as he stumbled towards me down the crater. I had him right where I wanted I kicked him in his gut to end this. He took the hit clean and was sent flying into the park next to the street. He had gone through a few bushes before coming to rest against a tree. I walked over slowly, that should have been enough for him.

"Still destructive as ever" Jiraiya said in jest.

"Okay I think that's enough for tonight you two." Sarutobi was smoking his pipe on a nearby bench. "You've both improved a lot in the past few years. I don't think there's a reason to continue this."

"No there isn't a reason. She obviously trusts the kid, that last kick of hers proved it."

"Jiraiya I have no problem with you talking to Tobi. The problem lied in your words. Remember this, If you ever talk about my family like that again I will kill you. That isn't a joke." I said with the most devilish smile I could have.

"I can talk to him?" He asked with surprise.

"I don't mind it's up to him if he wants to talk to you. Just remember your lesson from tonight."

"I promise. I don't want to have to feel a kick like that again. Do you mind patching me up?" After finishing speaking Jiraiya coughed up a bit of blood. "I think you might have gotten a few ribs with that."

"Sure, just hold still" I applied chakra to my hands giving them a green glow and applied it to his stomach. "Jiraiya I do believe what Tobi said. You can check for yourself if you can trust his words."

"If what you said is true I want to see it for my own eyes. I trust you but I have a hard time trusting a child like him. There is something off about that child and it isn't just how his life has gone so far. He's hiding something else from you"

"Fine, come with me but if he doesn't want to talk with you then you'll have to leave. I don't want him to be infected by a pervert like you."

Sarutobi bid us farewell as the two of us went back to the Senju Compound. I told one of the servants to prepare a room for Jiraiya since I did feel a little bad about his injury. I had him rest in the dining room while things were prepared. I thought about getting a guard to get Tobi but I decided to do it myself. I looked into his room to see him sound asleep. Attached to his arm was Tsuna who had drool hanging off of her mouth dripping onto Tobi. I think his punishment has been worth it so far. I closed his door and went back to Jiraiya in the other room.

"I didn't want to wake the two. Would you like to see what two adorable children look like when they sleep together?" Jiraiya got up from where he was and followed me back to Tobi's room. He gently opened the door and a minute later he shut it. We walked to the room prepared for him and his last words of the night "You're right I didn't want to wake them either." He smiled and entered. My long day had finally ended.


	10. Chapter 10: Talking with Jiraiya

You know, it's weird waking up and seeing an old pervert talking cutesy with your little cousin. When I walked into the dining room for breakfast I saw Jiraiya sitting at the table with Tsuna on his lap. Tsuna was asking him all kinds of questions. Tsunade and Shizune were already in work mode at the other end of the table. I ignored our guests as I have a feeling I'll be talking to him later. Breakfast wasn't anything too great but I was interrupted by Jiraiya telling Tsuna to knock it off.

"What about here?" Tsuna asked with excitement. She then poked Jiraiya in his stomach causing him to wince in pain. Tsuna was poking him everywhere trying to get him to react. I looked across the table to see Tsunade with a grin as she pretended not to notice. That was all I needed to know that he did something stupid last night and got punished for it. He should know the best out of anyone how scary she is when you do something stupid in front of her. I went back to my breakfast listening to a plethora of "Oww!"s next to me. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore "Hey kid, have some mercy and you don't laugh at me like that it's not funny."

"Tsuna really takes after Auntie" I teased.

"It really is like having a mini Tsunade running around. I guess that makes her cute." said Jiraiya. Why does it irritate me when he says it? Whatever I'll just finish this up and head for my morning training. I was about to finish when Tsunade called out to me. "Before you go for training Jiraiya would like to talk with you Tobi. Is that okay?"

"I don't mind" I got up assuming that our talk wouldn't be proper here. Jiraiya put Tsuna on the ground and told her he'd be back in a minute. I took us out to the backyard where my training would be. There I saw Koko with her Zorua lazing about on the ground. Jiraiya caught a peek at the two but didn't say anything. I know Tsunade trusts him so I won't say anything. I'll just have to tell her to be careful later. I kept walking until we got further back in the yard. Soon we came to a forested area about half a mile away from the compound. This was still our land but Jiraiya said we should be fine here. He knows a lot more than I do so I can't refute him. We stood face to face with neither of us speaking first. I have an idea of what he wants to ask so I might as well tell him I'm not it.

"Tob.." Jiraiya had started to talk but I interrupted him "I'm not the person you're looking for."

"Wait? What? How do you know what I'm looking for?" Jiraiya was shocked. Did Tsunade tell him about the prophecy beforehand?

"I know of the person who can fulfill it but I don't know if that will still happen. Things have already changed from what I know."

"What do you mean the things have changed from what you know?" Jiraiya didn't expect to lose the upperhand in this discussion so he was already a little out of his element.

"I guess the easiest example to prove it would be the fact that Tsuna and I exist. Tsunade was never supposed to have a child. How am I supposed to know if the things I know are still right?" I really didn't want to talk about a future I'm uncertain will even happen anymore. I'd rather just go with the flow and react to things in the future. "I didn't want to tell anyone about what happens in the future. Knowing it will just cause pain, problems and only make everything worse."

"Kid you don't act your age at all you know that?" Actually I'm well aware of that fact. I wish I knew how to. Jiraiya then plopped down on the ground in front of me. "You're right about knowing the future. I was given a prophecy from somewhere and now I can't not think about it. Who it might be that fulfills it. That's why I came here today to see with my own eyes if you speak the truth about what lies in that scroll. Tsunade told me a bit about what you talked about the other day and I have to say I'm surprised."

I knew she would talk about the contents but why would she talk about me? I didn't shut down like usual. She wouldn't tell anyone about it right? I can still believe in her… I think. Jiraiya could tell I lost my confidence once he mentioned me. "Tobi? Are you alright?"

"Yeah...I'm fine." I stuttered more than I cared to admit. Get yourself back together. Jiraiya isn't an enemy or someone I should be scared of. I need to stop getting scared of how people perceive me. I need some self confidence.

"I figured this would be the case. You just had to go and ask about him didn't you Jiraiya." Tsunade stepped out from behind a tree. "He has problems with how people perceive him."

"I didn't even ask about him yet. All I did was mentioned that you talked about him."

"I'll deal with you in a minute, Jiraiya. Tobi come here." I walked over when she called me. She picked me up and started to rub my back telling me it's alright. "I just told a little about you so that they could understand why you would want to make the deal you did."

I looked up at her "You didn't.." My voice trailed off at the end and she just smiled at me. "Of course not. I told you already that you could trust me. That's for you to tell other people if you want or if you want me to do it for you. It's your secret to tell afterall."

Thank you was all I could mutter before crying on her shoulder. Why is this so difficult for me? why did I have trouble believing in her? I honestly hated myself right. I wanted to do so many things but all I am is a crybaby with trust issues. How can I do anything later if this is all I can amount to now. Tsunade let out a long sigh before she scolded Jiraiya. "This is why I didn't want you to question him. He's still afraid of people changing their views about him and betraying him. Do you know how hard it was for him to open himself up to me? I swear to god if he gets any worse because of this."

"Hold on Tsunade. I didn't mean to do this to him, I honestly didn't know he was like this." Jiraiya did his best to try and defend himself from her wrath.

"Fine. Let's go back besides I need to tell Koko that Tobi will need a few minutes before his morning training." Tsunade held me the whole way back and only let me down once I had collected myself again. When we arrived Koko had tried to hide Zorua behind her back but it didn't work. Everyone clearly saw what she was hiding but she still continued on like we hadn't seen anything. She probably would have gotten away with it too if someone's innocence didn't destroy it. "Look how cute it is. Koko can I touch it? Can I? Please? I'll be a good girl."

Koko's face changed in an instant. Just a second ago she had confidence proudly displayed but now it looked like someone had taken all her money in a scam. Tsuna had ran over and grabbed Zorua right out of her hands. Zorua didn't seem to care as it called its name out a few times and then jumped out of Tsuna's hand running over to the frog pond before laying down on one of the stones there. Tsuna gave her a chase and soon the two were playing. Tsuna kept trying to catch Zorua but it didn't work as it was just too fast for her. It reminded me of the training a certain tailless person did trying to catch a monkey named bubbles. Honestly it might not be a bad way to gain some stamina.

"Does anyone mind explaining what kind of animal that is?" Asked Jiraiya as the rest of us didn't even bother to try. Tsunade lost her patience as she looked at Koko. Her eyes showed her displeasure about this. Koko didn't know what to do she just stood there like a plank. I could empathize with her since Tsunade is really scary when she's mad.

"It has only been a day Koko. A day and someone has already seen them from outside of the clan. I expected better from you. Jiraiya these are a special type of tamed beast that Tobi found. How he found them I'll leave up to his discretion to tell you. Koko I'll be giving you a punishment for this later."

"It kind of looks like one of Kakashi's dogs to be honest. Is that the only kind?"

"No, I'm sure you'll find we will soon have some unique ones. I ask that you won't speak of this to anyone else."

"Sure but I'll take a payment for it in advance." He was laughing before even asking what he wanted. I could only see his head working to get something from Tsunade as a price. A date maybe? Honestly they should just get together finally. "Hey Tobi before I go do you mind telling me what you know about Tsunade?"

I wasn't sure if I wanted to. I mean I want her to know how much she's changed from where she would have been but if she doesn't want to hear it then I won't say. I looked at Tsunade who was thinking about it. "I guess it doesn't hurt to hear it. Do you mind telling us Tobi?"

"Are you sure?" I was hesitant because I wasn't sure how to do this. Do I tell her the truth of how weak she was before meeting Naruto? Do I tell her the reason why she became the fifth? Let's just see how this goes. If it gets bad I'll stop it. Tsunade had Koko go take Tsuna and Zorua away for a few minutes so we could talk.

"I don't know how some things occured or why so just bear in mind there are some questions I won't answer even if I can. So I guess I'll start with this, in less than ten years you would be the 5th Hokage Tsunade."

"Oh I see Tsunade became a big wig in that version as well."

I shook my head before "There was no one else after you refused Jiraiya. So you went to recruit her yourself with a new student."

Tsunade laughed this time "That sounds exactly like you to be honest. Someone offers you a job and you just decided to not do it. You probably declined it because it cut into your research."

"Hey hey. Let the boy finish." Jiraiya said to change the topic.

"Tsunade refused your request. She wasn't exactly in the best state and if it wasn't for your student then she might have taken an offer she would regret."

"Kid your not making this sound so good."

"Its not. If I tell you what's next then I'm afraid it'll change most of your plans in the future. Do you still want to know? Once you hear it you can't go back." I looked at both of them before they nodded in unison.

"What was the deal I almost took Tobi? It couldn't have been that bad could it?"

"Just know that you're a different person now." I didn't know how else to word this. I knew that this would be a huge blow to her pride. I took a long pause thinking of how I would say this "If you could bring back the dead would you?"

"I didn't. I couldn't have possibly wanted to" Tsunade started out mad but she pieced it together rather quick. Although her words weren't quick to come out she had already rationalized it. "Even if I did how could it be possible."

"It is possible you even named me after the man who created the jutsu. The thing is it needs a life to be exchanged for its use. Jiraiya and his student were the price to bring back the dead."

"I wouldn't. I couldn't do that. Why would I ever believe someone who said they could bring them back."

"I don't think I should say anymore. I probably shouldn't have said what I already did." I felt guilty about going this far. I know they're not the same person but she could see the road that led to those decisions.

"Tobi you better not be stopping." I flinched at those words her eyes were serious.

"I think it's for the best that you continue as well. Who did she make the deal with and who could learn that jutsu?" Jiraiya said showing his agreement for me to continue.

"Fine. I'll talk just stop looking at me like that." I wasn't filled with fear but she did scare me. She was dead set on getting everything out of me this time. "Orochimaru was the one who made the deal. He wanted to destroy the leaf village, badly."

"Why would I ever believe him?" I looked away since I knew I was going blab about the third if I looked at her.

"Tobi?" I tried backing up, one step at a time hoping I could make a break for it.

"Tobi." It was no longer a question for her she wasn't going to let me go.

"If you don't start talking I guess we'll just have to spar all day" I turned to look at her and she just stared back at me. She had a beautiful smile on that anyone could appreciate except for me. I don't know why but I shivered when I saw her like that causing Jiraiya to burst out with laughter. "Tobi you're not going to stop here right?"

"Of course not. I mean I was just thinking is all." I said trying my best not to stutter or bite my tongue. All I could hear from Jiraiya was him muttering poor kid under his breath. "Orochimaru had already used it before so he had credibility."

"I know he had raided the archives that day but I never expected him to learn that one." Jiraiya said shocked at what he heard. "What else has he managed to master from then?"

"Who did he summon Tobi?" Asked Tsunade.

I really don't want to answer this but I knew I had already dug my grave. Might as well jump in head first. I took too long to answer as Tsunade was about to call my name again. "He summoned the first and second hokages and used them to kill the third. The third gave up his life to seal Orochimaru's hands so he could never cast another jutsu. His death is what lead you to become the hokage." I had practically screamed by the time I was done. My hands had balled up to become fists. My fingers were digging into my palms enough to draw a little blood. These were no longer characters in a story to me they were family. Although I might not have known them long I depended on them for everything now.

"Calm down Tsunade." Jiraiya was trying to calm her down. This is why I didn't want to say anything. If I told her that he trampled all over their graves then I knew she would be mad. At least it might have her avoid thinking about how horrible of a place she was when Jiraiya found her. I decided to take my chance and retreat a bit to let Jiraiya handle her. I heard Tsunade call my name from behind me so I stopped and slowly turned around. "Thank you. I know you were just trying to protect me but it won't change anything I plan to do from now on so you don't have to worry."

I nodded and walked away again. I met Koko off to the side leaning against a pole waiting for me. She had her eyes closed with Zorua on the deck next to her. Tsuna was no longer around so I guess she was off goofing around somewhere else. Once I approached she opened her eyes. "Are you ready for today's training young master?" I nodded and that's how my day passed. At some point Jiraiya had left but he didn't even say goodbye. Tsunade said he had something important to do. I wonder if I can take him to some pervert's dream of another world I think that would be a great vacation. We could call it "secluded training" or something I'm sure he wouldn't mind.

Training that day was pretty uneventful since I'm just doing basic exercises to build my strength right now. Koko and I spent a day inside of the rift where we went into one of the other entrances, Hoppip Meadows. We saw a few interesting grass pokemon once we got through the endless meadows of splashing hoppips. Our pokemon got into a few battles which was pretty fun. Koko looked a little reluctant to let her pokemon battle but they were adamant about it. Zorua wasn't very happy that Growlithe was fighting more than it was. Eventually we let the two of them go at each other which satisfied the both of them. Looks like we have a rivalry brewing here.

At night I was using the information about the place to formulate a plan and to think of potential targets for our clan to catch. I was basically planning on writing my own version of a pokedex on paper. I tried documenting as much as I could using both my memories and what we learned about the village in the rift. I didn't have much else to do at night so this was a way to pass the time. I made a team with and without legendaries for myself since I wasn't sure they could be in there. No one had seen one in the dungeon. The Adventurers' club had a wall dedicated to pictures of pokemon captured inside of the dungeon and their locations. I thought it was pretty amazing when I saw it the first time. Most of the wall was filled but I recognized the numbers that we're missing. They were some of the second evolutions and legendaries. I didn't see Venusaur on the wall in the third spot or Charizard in the sixth. Once I get this information the way I want it I think I'll make a copy to give to Tsunade. That way she can use it to help others with what they would like as a partner.

Time passed quickly after that day and three months had passed. In that time I had completed a few new quests and finished up a few ones that had unlocked after I had woken up. Once Tsunade had taken me to explore around the village I had found over a dozen different rifts. Most of them I could recognize as light novels or anime but one was a chinese novel I had read, Tales of Demons and Gods. It was at the Yamanaka flower shop which kind of confused me since I thought it would be something else there. The rift at the academy was My Hero and the rift at the Ramen place Naruto liked was SAO. Dragonball was at the training field and Berserk was at the memorial for the third shinobi war. Highschool of the Dead was where Itachi and Kisame visited Konoha.

I found where I would bring the pervert which made me laugh. I think he'd really enjoy a trip there if we got along in the future. I only found it because Tsunade had taken Tsuna, Shizune and I to the hot springs. In the bushes outside of the fence I spotted someone doing research. I figured I'd mess with him by throwing him into the rift I saw nearby but when I read the name I decided it would have been a reward instead of a punishment. The prompt read [Would you like to travel to the town of Axel? Yes/No]. If that guy managed to find the succubus cafe there I'd never be able to drag him back to this world. So Instead I called the nearest Uchiha police officer and told them it was that guy right over there. I think that this isn't an uncommon thing for them since the guy looked at him and muttered "again?". I now had the most quests active that I've ever had. Finding all those rifts gave me a few new missions and some came with a mission to bring people into them. I had to be careful in doing so since I have to work on the assumption that they would be trapped if something happened to me.

I looked at the quest log to see

[Learn shadow clone jutsu before becoming a chunin Reward: Small increase in chakra Failure: Possible decrease of chakra. Do you accept? Yes/No?]

[Learn transformation jutsu Reward: Small increase of chakra Failure: Unable to graduate on time. Do you accept? Yes/No?]

[Learn a new wood style jutsu Reward: A medium increase in chakra Failure: none. Do you accept? Yes/No?]

[Create one jutsu. Reward: Various Failure: Possible damage to chakra system. Do you accept? Yes/No?]

[Create one water style jutsu. Reward: Varies Failure: Possible damage to chakra system. Do you accept? Yes/No?]

[Create one wood style jutsu. Reward: Varies Failure: Possible damage to chakra system. Do you accept? Yes/No?]

[Create one earth style jutsu. Reward: Varies Failure: Possible damage to chakra system. Do you accept? Yes/No?]

[Help Tsuna train her chakra control Reward: Tsuna's gratitude Failure: Unknown. Do you accept? Yes/No?]

[Teach Tsuna wood style jutsu Reward: Large increase of chakra for both parties Failure: Multiple injuries to one sibling. Do you accept? Yes/No?]

[Befriend one member of a clan's main branch (Five different clans required) Reward: More favorable impression from each clan. Failure: Future political problem. Do you accept? Yes/No?]

[Evolve two pokemon in the next year Reward: 5 great balls Failure: Unable to find rare pokemon for seven months. Do you accept? Yes/No?]

[Evolve 15 Pokemon in two years Reward: 3 Ultra Balls. 2 Stones of your choice Failure: ? Do you accept? Yes/No?]

[? Reward:? Failure: ? Do you accept? Yes/No?]

[? Reward: Hidden quests are now available Failure: ? Do you accept? Yes/No?]

[Recruit one rift resident Reward: Vaires Failure: Possible closure of rift Do you accept? Yes/No?]

[Get married (Unlimited uses) Reward: Spouse is rewarded Failure: None. Do you accept? Yes/No?]

Yep, just going to gloss over those last few. I'm pretty sure that goddess just added that last one to watch me lose my head a bit. I want to ask but I don't at the same time. The thing about these quests is most of the time they don't influence me. They pop up once I had done something for instance if I learn a water jutsu I might get a quest to master it and rewarded for my effort. I had already planned on helping Tsuna learn whatever she wanted but those penalties shouldn't be ignored either. She has a lot more potential as a shinobi than I do. I'm sure in the future she will be the strongest of our clan. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm a guy Tsuna would most likely have been the clan head. I honestly wouldn't have a problem with it even if Tsunade decided that in the future.

Back to the quest at the end, I've never seen a quest pop up with such forward thinking. Sure I thought someday I might be married but I haven't thought about it yet. Actually scratch that my marriage will most likely be political so I may as well not think about this for the time being. This will be more of a headache for Tsunade than it will be for me.

The recruitment one makes it sound like I can take characters from a story back. How is that going to work? The goddess is hoping for that if she is the one suggesting that through the quests. I never thought about it since I didn't have any plans of visiting rifts anytime in the future. Most of the stories I know won't be that enjoyable for a kid to experience. Then there is the problem if I take someone from their world. Do they just disappear or do I get a copy of that person. Does their world readjust for the loss of that character? I didn't know how it would mess up their story so I haven't wanted to venture into another rift. I've already messed up this one so I'd feel pretty bad if I ruined another one. I wonder if the other people she choose are in similar situations to me.

A lot of commotion coming from the main entrance of the compound. It threw me out of the thinking I was doing so I got up from my bed. Thinking about all this wasn't going to do much to help me so I decided to get up and play with Tsuna. If she's in the mood I could probably get a quest or two out of the way too. Opening her door I saw my cousin playing with some stuffed animals. She looked so happy sitting there playing that I was hesitant to interrupt her. Her auburn eyes meet mine and she immediately stopped what she was doing. She ran over to her door and hugged me. I put my hand on her head and ruffled her hair. "Calm down Tsuna. There's no need to crush me each time you hug me."

She let out a cute giggle as she looked up at me with a cute smile. "Did you come to play with me?"

"I did." I sat down next to her showing some interest in what she's doing. She told me about her elaborate ninja fight that she was orchestrating. It didn't make any sense to me but I tried my best to understand. I watched her play for a few minutes before I started to get a headache. It's not that I didn't like spending time with her but I couldn't keep up with her imagination. I used opening the window as an excuse to take a break hoping my head would calm down. On the other side of the window was a man in an ANBU mask. What the hell?

All it took was that split second thought before a sword was stabbed into my chest. I moved at the last second to prevent it from piercing my heart. Blood rapidly started to fall from the wound. I wanted to use a wood style jutsu to fight back but I was tossed aside before I could do anything. The ANBU masked man came into the room and grabbed Tsuna. He left as quickly as he had came. The only thing left in the room was a sword and myself. I didn't take the sword out since I would just bleed out. I didn't know the first thing about medical ninjutsu so I was going to have to find help.

It took me everything just to get up and head to the door. I couldn't move anymore and it felt like my body had shut down. I felt so weak so with my last bit of strength I thought to try and seal the bleeding with a wood style jutsu. I'm still not very good with this but if I can just plug the space around the sword maybe it can help. I fell back against the wall. It hurt like hell and I didn't want to die again. How can life be so shitty? I figured I'd leave a message for whoever found me in blood. Tsuna Pig AN… was all I could write before everything went dark.


	11. Chapter 11: Konoha's Crisis

[Quest completed: Survive Rewards: Greater potential to gather natural energy.] That was the prompt I woke up to. I don't even remember accepting a quest. Wait that isn't the important part. Where's Tsuna? What the hell happened? And why am I alive? I looked down to see that I was heavily bandaged. I was in the hospital? Is this Konoha's hospital? I looked around the room to see if there was anything I could recognize. I think this looks familiar but I'm not too sure. There was a curtain around my bed so I couldn't find a window.

Next to the bed was a nightstand with a vase on it. I tried to get up from the bed but I could only feel pain. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs that it hurt but it wouldn't help me at all. It took me almost a minute to just position myself at the edge of the bed. I put one foot down and then the other. I let go of the bed I was using to stand up. My legs were shaking and the pain was starting to make its way back to my head. I took one step, another step and I moved my hand to the curtain to open it. My legs gave out on me at this point. I grabbed the curtain hoping it could hold me up. It didn't and both of us fell to the ground. It created a huge racket causing some people outside of the room to come pouring in. I couldn't get up anymore but I could crawl. All I did by crawling was get a little more tangled up with the fallen curtain.  
I know I can't do anything at this point but I have to do something. I don't want Tsuna to be like me. To live as a captive, to be treated like a toy. Worst case they'll strip her of her innocence and turn her into a weapon. I don't want any of this to happen. Tears were streaming down my face and I could only grab the curtain. I was so weak. I'm too weak. I want to be stronger. I don't want to see her turn out like me scared of even his own shadow. I rolled over since I knew I couldn't do anything. Tears were now combined with sobbing and snot. Why did this happen? In the middle of my crying I passed out.

I was probably put back onto the bed by the people who came in. I never even got to see who they were. Sitting up took a lot of effort and I noticed the curtain was hung again. "Tobi you're awake! Thank god you're alright. You gave some people quite a scare earlier." Said a redhead lady to my left wearing Konoha's attire for missions. She wasn't wearing casual clothes which made me think something was wrong.

"Kushina?" I asked not knowing why she's the one here.

"What am I not good enough to be here?" She said with a teasing tone.

"I didn't mean that. Where is Tsunade? Or the Senju Guards? What happened?"  
"You really are something Tobi. Already asking for things before even worrying about yourself. You're lucky to be alive right now. I don't know how you managed to do it." Kushina chuckled a bit before continuing "Don't worry Tsunade is safe and she's going to get Tsuna with some others right now. I was already here because someone I know also got hurt. I told her that I would look after you while she's gone."

If Tsunade is already chasing after Tsuna then things will turn out alright. I can't imagine too many people outsmarting the leaf with the ninjas they currently have. Tsunade most likely asked Kushina to guard me after they found me. She probably went to get Tsuna and turn their lives into a living hell. Knowing how capable she was I could rest assured that she'd be fine. "Tobi do you remember what happened that day? Its okay if you don't"

"That day? How much time has passed since then?" Her words made me think that I had been in a coma. How long was I asleep for this time? I immediately looked at my body for any clues.

"You were in another coma. You've been asleep for a week which I have to say is much better than last time." She said trying to lighten the mood. She seemed especially attentive to my thoughts and actions.

"A week and Tsuna is still missing? I have to do something to help please help me get out of here."

"That's not happening Tobi. Do you think I'm going to let you out of that bed in your condition? You're still not even close to leaving this hospital in your current state." Kushina's tone got much more serious than she had been. Kushina's face showed she wasn't going to compromise. I was stuck in this bed and I guess things aren't so simple outside. Maybe I can try to get something about it from Kushina.

"If I tell you what happened can you tell me what's going on? I need to know why Tsuna was kidnapped."

"I'm sorry I can't Tobi. I was told that everything is to be a village secret until it's over. Things got out of hand and this is what happened I'm sorry."

"Fine, I thought it was worth a shot" I sighed. I really didn't expect much considering if things weren't messed up I'm sure I would have a couple of guards from the clan. Since I know I'm not going to be getting anything out of her I started my story. "It happened quick so I don't remember much. I heard a commotion at the compound entrance but I decided to ignore it. I went to go play with Tsuna instead. She was watching her play with her stuffed animals when I got there and she wanted me to join her. I got a headache from listening to her after a while so I went to open the window of her room. On the other side was a guy with an ANBU like mask. Once our eyes met he put a sword in me and I barely had time to move. He then tossed me to the side sword and all. I remember seeing him enter through the window and walk to Tsuna. He grabbed Tsuna and left without even giving me a second look. I can only remember what I tried after that not what happened."

"What did you try after that?" She asked with curiosity in her voice.  
"I tried moving but I don't think that worked as I barely made it out of the room. I think I then tried stopping the bleeding but I remember feeling weak. I couldn't remember if it worked or not but I wanted to leave a message for whoever found me. I don't know if I got that far though"

"Tobi how old are you right now?"

"I don't know."

"If what I saw on the sheet before is right you're six. For a six year old to survive getting stabbed in the chest is already a miracle. The doctors told me that you stopped the bleeding by using a wood jutsu to act as a dam to clot your blood with the sword intact. I don't know how you moved like that but it's a miracle to be alive right now. Just concentrate on getting better and leave the other things to the adults. You've already helped us so much let us pay you back a little bit. Is that okay?" Kushina ruffled my hair after saying that. It was nice to hear a compliment but it didn't really change my mood.

"Sure" I said as I knew that I wouldn't be able to do anything. Even if I wanted to leave this bed I physically couldn't and if I could leave she wouldn't let me. "How are Akane and Naruto doing?"

"There with some family members. I just got back from visiting the place the scroll mentioned and I have to give my thanks. I found two members of my clan just how Tsunade said I would. We've successfully brought them back to Konoha so now there are other Uzumakis living here." She said with a bright smile on her face.

"I'm glad you found them." I smiled and I didn't have much else to ask her. Time passed between us in silence. It was kind of awkward but I really didn't know what to talk about. I laid back down and started thinking about ways to get stronger. I needed a plan but my thoughts would always circle back around to Tsuna. Was she okay? Has Tsunade already rescued her? I couldn't take it anymore.

"Kushina, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure go ahead" She looked happy to finally lose the awkward atmosphere in the room.

"You've been a ninja for a long time."

"Yes, I have." Kushina responded not knowing where I was going with this.

"When you become strong does this feeling go away? This feeling where I'm useless?"

"Tobi you shouldn't think like that. I might be strong but there are plenty of people stronger than I am. I'm still useless compared to them but I have things I can and can't do just like you. You've already saved my and my husband's life. You made it so my son has a family that loves him. My daughter exists because of you. How can you say that you are useless. Those were things that you did because you could. I wish we could find a way to repay what you've given us but instead we've been relying on what you've already given us. When I heard that you were brought in here I was shocked. I'm glad you're alive and you want to help but you need to get well first. That's what you can do right now. Sleep and get well soon. We'll make sure Tsuna is here to see you when you get released from the hospital. I'm going to go see your doctor for a bit I'll be back later." With that Kushina got up and walked through the door outside the room. I was alone but I knew that I'd be back with my family once I could get healthy enough. They were probably all out searching for Tsuna right now. While thinking about the best possible outcome I fell asleep again.

Outside the room Kushina looked at the team of ANBU guards. "I'm going to go and talk to the head doctor about his condition. No one is to enter that room and if someone absolutely has to then take off your mask if you're not in a battle. Do not let that child find out what is going on. If you do talk to him assume he's trying to get information out of you and assume he is smarter than you. Do not mistake him for an ordinary child. Do I make myself clear?"

The four nodded allowing Kushina to go find the doctor. Tobi's room was on the same floor as him so she wouldn't be too far from him just in case. "Doctor, how is he doing?"

"Ah you mean the Senju boy right?" asked the doctor without looking up from his desk.

"Yes"

"He partially opened his wound earlier but I think we managed to do something about it in time. That child has a strong will to even be able to move in that condition especially after sleeping for four years. He shouldn't have the physique he has right now. He must have been diligent on rehabilitating himself."

"Tsunade was pretty strict in making sure he would be alright" Kushina laughed while telling the doctor how she supervised his rehabilitation at home.

"He sure is lucky to have someone like that to help him. If there aren't any setbacks like earlier he should be healed enough to leave in two to three weeks. If he acts up again he will have to wait longer."

"Thank you doctor. I'll let you get back to work" With that Kushina left the doctor's office. She proceeded through the hospital as she visited rooms here and there talking with those inside. After she finished visiting the other people she returned to the hallway outside of Tobi's room. She sat down wondering how things went so wrong.

I spent my time completely in bed. I read the books that were left on the nightstand by me and I even read Jiraiya's _Tale of a Gutsy Ninja_. I didn't bother to read any of his other books as the nurse would probably take it from me anyways. The people were nice to me but I still wanted to go home. I don't know why but I felt like my room turned into a breakroom for the nurses as some would always be around. I didn't mind since it was more people to talk to. Some spent time with me and asked me a bunch of questions while others asked me about Tsunade. I didn't realize how many people idolized her. The bed next to me was never given out which I thought was kind of suspicious. Kushina visited me everyday telling the nurses I wasn't a toy to play with. After spending so much time it eventually became easier to talk to her. She was happy to share the stories about her kids and asked me how I spent my time.

"Tobi where did you find those creatures?" Kushina asked out of nowhere during one of our chats.

"I, uh, don't know what you're talking about" I said as I looked away from her trying to hide my face which could be read like a book. I'm really, really bad at lying still. Kushina chuckled a bit before talking

"Don't worry Tsunade already showed me Yoko the other day. She was adorable running around at the compound."

"We can't even keep a secret, not that I would be of much help if you were to interrogate me. This is so depressing." I said thinking about how we were supposed to keep them a secret to the outside. I was pretty thankful that I wasn't the one who had ruined it for everyone else.

"Do you want to see mine?"

"Is that alright?"

"Yeah I miss them anyways. I do need your help to bring them here though." I gave her the instructions on where to find their pokeballs. I specifically told her how to handle them so they aren't accidentally let out as she was walking around. The last thing I need is one of my pokemon running around the village while I was in the hospital. It took her half an hour to get them and bring them back.

I let the two out at the end of the bed. My growlithe immediately jumped up on the bed and sat down next to me. The other pokemon I had caught was a bulbasaur that looked around before using its vines to jump up onto the bed. Kushina looked at the two and was confused. She had no idea where those vines came from as they shot out of the side of Bulbasaur's bulb. I laughed and told her that I was the same way the first time I saw them too. I pat each of their heads telling them that I missed them. "Tsunade told me that their contracted beasts? She didn't really explain about them too much."

"Yeah that's probably the best way to put it. The thing is as they grow stronger then they will change in both strength and appearance. Sometimes they change a lot and others not so much. Bulbasaur here will turn into a big plant monster and growlithe will turn into a giant dog that will make the Inuzuka Clan jealous. Unfortunately they won't be able to speak in a tongue we can understand so there is a tradeoff."

"Incredible, can the plant one use the vines well?"

"Bulba can you grab me the vase from the table behind the curtain?"

I heard a trademark cry from the pokemon as two vines shot out to the edge of the curtain. It took a few seconds but I was holding a vase in my hands to show Kushina. She looked like she wanted one herself. "Can you put it back for me?" The vase in my hands was wrapped by vines and gone in a matter of seconds returning to where it came from.

"Would you be willing to tell me how I can get one?"

"Tsunade said it's a clan secret" I said while shrugging my shoulders

"Thought so. Guess I'll just force Minato to marry Akane to the clan and ransack wherever you keep them." She told me while laughing to herself.

"What do you mean by 'marrying Akane'?"

"Oh you might not know. Clans often times try to marry their children together to strengthen ties. Tsunade probably hasn't talked to you about this yet. It's possible that she might have to do that in your future. The Senju Clan is very influential in the village so you might be the number one sought after heir in the future. You should be happy that there will be plenty of young ladies who will like you later. I wonder who the lucky one will be?" Kushina was still laughing but she was serious in her words.

"It certainly won't be you" I said while looking the other way embarrassed after hearing her talk about it.

"Of course it won't be me, you little. Are you saying our cute Akane isn't good enough for you? I'm sure when she grows up you'll eat those words and beg me in the future." I managed to get on Kushina's nerve and she went off on me. I was being scolded for being ten years too earlier and a bunch of other things that would embarrass her if others were here. In the end we both burst out laughing.

Soon two weeks had passed and I was ready to be released. I still haven't seen Tsunade but today I was taken home by Shizune. She looked like she hasn't slept in days. I was surprised that when we got back to the compound that there wasn't any guards. When I asked Shizune about it she said that Tsunade had taken them all with her out of the village. That it was only her and I in the village. Shizune made us dinner that night and we didn't talk too much. I knew something was wrong but she wouldn't tell me. She was constantly vigilant and often wouldn't pay full attention to our conversations. It was obvious that something bad has happened but she wasn't going to tell me. The least I could do was find a way to make sure we're both safe.

"Shizune let's stay inside the rift for a few days. I'm not stupid I know something happened and you're more worried about me than yourself. If we're in there then you don't have to worry about our safety. We can leave a note here saying we're at the village inn." Shizune thought over my offer before saying it was a good idea. For each day that passed outside, twelve days would pass in the village inside the rift. Shizune and I took the things we'd need for an extended stay inside. Camping supplies, extra clothes and whatever else Shizune said we'd need. Money was an issue inside the village as I was the only one who has any in there. It wasn't much but I told her we could sell things we found inside of the dungeon to buy supplies on the other side.

We spent out first day making a plan and spent it leisurely at the inn in the village. Shizune slept most of the day and she said I wasn't allowed to explore inside the dungeon without her. She said if I wasn't going to behave then my training will be so strict that I'd be too sore to move for a week. To make sure she knew I was paying attention to her she started telling me about a new training regiment that Tsunade was going to give me in the future.

On the second day Shizune and I started our trek through the first few floors of each entrance. We figured while we were here we could map out as much as possible and confirm any information we already had about the place. It took us a week to go through the Rattata Fields entrance. Shizune had picked up two new pokemon in this week, Pikachu and Cyndaquil. After 12 days inside we stepped out for a bit to find that no one has returned yet.  
The next twelve days inside were spent investigating The Hoppip Meadows entrance. Shizune had caught her fourth pokemon, Fomantis, on the third day inside. She thought it was cute but I honestly don't see it. In the meadows we found many different kinds of pokemon that came out during the night. It was strange but until we started doing this we never went in here when it was night. I remember that it was possible for this to happen in games for this but I forgot to see if it was a thing here. On the final floor for this entrance I caught my third pokemon, a Gastly. The Gastly was part of a horde which was the first time we encountered one. Shizune grabbed me and tried to run away before I could calm her down. I couldn't stop laughing but I got to admit ghost types are so much creepier in person.

After the second set of twelve days we left. We stayed out for a few hours but nobody showed up. We went back in a little disappointed but Shizune didn't want to risk our safety staying outside. Inside we explored the final entrance, Spinarak Cave. Once we finished exploring this entrance we decided to go back to the town before going further down. Shizune was selling items and trying to see if we could acquire a house in the village. We've made a decent amount through scavenging items we've found in the dungeon but I doubt we'll be close to buying a house here. While she was doing all of that I decided to see if I could find any patterns in how pokemon showed up inside the dungeon. It took me a few hours but I found that each entrance has its own breeding group. The pokemon in The Rattata Fields was known to belong to the field egg group, Hoppip Meadows was the grass egg group and Spinarak Cave was the bug egg group. If I had to guess the lakes and ponds in there must be the water egg groups. I'd need to find some fishing rods or dive down to be sure but I really don't want to do that right now. We spent our last day here this time sparring. I haven't stopped my physical training once since we got here but I haven't been fully healed until now. To the people outside it might look like I healed quick but I have already spent a month inside of the rift. Shizune was the first to notice that it doesn't accelerate aging so I won't look like I had a massive growth spurt. She observed that I was healing at a normal rate but I wasn't growing as I should.

I stopped counting the days soon. Shizune was the one who was concerned about the outside. I knew I couldn't do anything for Tsunade or Tsuna so like Kushina told me, I did what I could. We finished our dungeon trips by mapping out all the floors from the first two tiers of each entrance. We also mapped special events we encountered such as hordes, rare pokemon or abnormal levels of a certain type in an area. Shizune had caught her six pokemon so her team was now Cyndaquil, Nidoran(m), Fomantis, Staryu, Pikachu and Rowlet. I haven't been able to fill out my team but I now had three members. Gastly, Growlithe and Ivysaur who was the first to evolve out of all of our pokemon. Shizune thought he was sick at first but then she saw it grow during the light. When he finished she was shocked at how much different he was.

Eighty Four days passed in total since we started to come in here and only a week has passed outside. We waited for a few hours in the house. Shizune was always on guard and we spent all of our time their near the rift in case we needed to run. It was then that we heard some people approaching from the main entrance of the compound. Shizune had drawn a kunai from somewhere and hid it behind her forearm. The sounds were getting closer and it sounded like there were a few sets of footsteps. I know that Shizune is a chunin right now but she wouldn't stand a chance against a few ANBU or higher level opponents. She brought me behind her back and we slowly moved towards the rift waiting to see who was coming. I could tell she was thinking about telling me to run if I have to so I tried pulling her to the rift.

The footsteps went silent. Shizune tensed up as she realized that these people were no longer being careless. We moved towards the rift quicker than we had been and I wrote on Shizune's back using my finger to tell her we could go when we need to. On the porch of the closest house we saw a person wearing a mask moving cautiously. He made eye contact with us and walked towards us drawing his weapon. I was ready to go but Shizune hadn't given me a signal yet. Soon we saw another person with a mask appear on our flank. We were slowly being surrounded so I decided to go without asking her anymore. I didn't want to lose anyone else so I decided to take her away without waiting any longer. Once we were inside Shizune blew up on me "Tobi what do you think you're doing? I didn't tell you to send us through yet. What if they camp out our spot until we return? How are we supposed to go back?"

She's right I didn't think it through. My flight or fight kicked in and I knew that we should run. Thinking about it now I don't think I'm wrong. Even if Shizune was stronger than them I was a giant handicap to her. Fighting to protect someone is a lot harder than fighting on your own. How many heroes in stories have I read about that died protecting someone else or got hurt trying to protect someone. I didn't want to be captured or kidnapped either. "I'm sorry I just didn't want anymore family disappearing on me. I didn't want you to leave me so I took you with me"

Shizune crouched down and hugged me. "I'm sorry too Tobi." We held an embrace until both of us calmed down. I'm surprised I didn't cry this time. Usually I shrink back when people yell at me but I didn't feel as scared this time. I think the fear of being alone won over the fear of someone yelling at me.

"Tobi I have an idea of who those people. It's possible that they'll have someone keep an eye out on the compound thinking we might return. If we're lucky they will think it was a teleportation seal set up and we went elsewhere sending most of attention looking for us. Let's spend what's equivalent to a week outside in here just to be safe. While we're here we should make acquiring a place to stay our priority."


	12. Chapter 12: Getting back to normal

It took us thirty seven days inside the dungeon for us to scavenge enough money to buy a plot of land near the cliff. Shizune made sure to find us the most efficient way to run through each layer while maximizing the places we might find something. Spending this time with her I realized how much she cares for us. I used to think that she was just Tsunade's caretaker but she's really putting her all into this. She's been treating me like her own family this whole time and I'm really grateful for that.

"Tobi if you daze off like that in the middle of a fight you'll be killed" Shizune had kicked my legs out from under me causing me to fall down. I landed on my back and I was breathing heavily. Trying to move my body only caused pain right now. I gave up and just laid flat on the ground. Shizune stood over me while giggling to herself "Looks like we'll have to call it a day."

"Thanks. I'm just going to sleep here for now" I said closing my eyes.

"Take your time. We'll explore one of the lower areas today when you're ready." Shizune walked away to spend some time training on her own. She always had more energy than I did. Our spars were like a light warm up exercise for her. She's been training much harder than I have since we've gotten here. It doesn't mean that I've been slacking but I've been spending more time with my pokemon. I recently won my ten battles at the Adventurer's Club which caused the quest with the question marks to finish. Turns out the reward was two stones to evolve pokemon. I took a fire stone and a moon stone. I didn't know what Tsunade was up to but I wanted to make sure Shizune and I could be as strong as possible. If I knew which kind of evolution she wanted to have for Yoko I would have chosen that one as part of my reward. Shizune however won twice as many as me but didn't get anything.

It took a few hours for me to feel up to walking again. Once I was up Shizune had already finished her training and cleaned up. We went into the dungeon once and practically ran through the levels of Rattata Fields. We encountered the middle part as some people called it. The valleys we had in the fields were no longer visible as it seemed like winding mountain paths were the only thing we could see. Once we got through a path it would lead to an area where the pokemon would live. It was closer to being a bunch of connecting rooms than an environment like earlier. Each area had a specific pokemon or type of pokemon. The first one we stumbled upon had a horde of Cubones walking around.

It took 3 days of this for the Shizune's first pokemon to evolve. Her Nidoran became a Nidorino but she looked a little upset that it wasn't as adorable anymore. I didn't want to tell her how much it will change if I give her the stone I'm holding onto. We continued on for another couple of hours where I found what I was waiting for most a Larvitar. This is the pokemon I've wanted most since I found out I could come here. The area we found them in was riddle with small mounds that they would use to run around on. Shizune and I sat on top of one of these mounds to observe the area. There were a lot of them so I wanted to pick one that felt right.

"What kind of pokemon is this?" Shizune asked next to me.

"Compared to all of the pokemon that we've found it might be the strongest when its fully grown. It will be able to summon sandstorms whenever it wants and shake the earth." I said as I smiled at her. She looked at the dozen or so little stubby creatures tumbling over themselves and couldn't see it.

"That's a little hard to believe looking at them right now."

"Yeah it is. Now let's see if one of them sticks out from the others." I said laughing. She was right they don't look all that powerful right now. We sat there for a bit longer but all they did was eat dirt and fall over each other. I thought this would be a lot more interesting than just seeing them wander all over the place. The Psyducks we saw on the way here were more interesting than those. I sat up getting ready to move to another mound to watch another group of them. Shizune got up as well but she stopped when she realized something was a bit off. Behind her a Larvitar was eating some of the food she left in her pouch.

"Shizune how come you didn't tell me you were feeding one." I wasn't sure if this guy snuck up on us or not.

"Well the thing is I didn't know he was there." Shizune said feeling a little upset that she lost her back to one of these. It hurt her pride a bit to admit it. The Larvitar looked at both of us and picked up some of the dirt next to him and threw it at us. We put our hands up to shield our eyes and he was gone.

"Tobi I don't like that one. I think I'm going to kill it." Shizune had already taken a kunai out of her bag.

"Hold on Shizune. Why don't we catch it instead since that one seemed more capable than the others here." I said as we both looked at the sad excuses we saw below us.

"Fine I'll leave it near dead for you but make sure you train it well." This one really hurt her pride as she then made some hand seals to breathe fire down the hole he had jumped into. We could see the fire come out of some of the other holes on the mounds near us. On the one behind us I could see an angry Larvitar staring us down. It looked like it decided to fight us and soon it created a rock slide heading towards us. It was easy to dodge for the two of us but Shizune didn't expect such a wide scale from a small creature. We jumped to a few mounds away as other Larvitars started to scatter. It buried into the ground again disappearing from our view.

"He's surprisingly smart for one of these pokemon." Shizune muttered as she put her kunai away. "I think this is a good match for you. He looks much smarter than the ones around us."

At that moment we were affected by a pulse he had thrown out to us from underground but it didn't have much of an effect on us. It then came out of the ground to try and headbutt Shizune. I had let out Ivysaur to fight on our behalf as this could be a good fight for him to gain some experience. The two stared at each other for a bit. Ivysaur let his vines out as he could control four of them right now. They scattered in different directions to surround his opponent. The Larvitar dug underground again to get away. Ivysaur had two of his vines follow below while the other two came back to him. The Larvitar was content hiding underground and didn't move for a minute. Ivysaur got tired of waiting so he let out some spores from the flower on his back.

Just as he finished the Larvitar appeared behind him. He caused another rock slide from the mound behind him. Ivysaur jumped back but continued to release spores into the area. The Larvitar made an effort to run away but the rock slide had pushed him into the path of the spores. Soon he laid there paralyzed while Ivysaur started to take out its temper on it using his vines. Shizune was content with what she saw so I finally threw a ball at the injured pokemon in front of us. It took three tries to catch this guy. Out of all of the pokemon we've encountered he's been the most willful of the bunch.

After we caught Larvitar who I've decided to name Lava. We went back to the village. Shizune and I decided to camp out for a night outside of the village area. The night settled and it was peaceful. The stars were beautiful above us as the fire in front of us was enough to entertain the two of us. We talked about what had happened during our trip through the dungeon seeing if either of us missed anything that the other had noticed. We then filled in the map we've been making a little more.

"I know asking you is pointless but when will I know what's going on?" I asked hoping that today she might tell me something about what's going on outside. The outside never left my mind but being here certainly made it hard to remember how cruel the world outside could be.

"I'm sorry Tobi. I really am but I can't tell you yet. When Tsunade gets back it will be up to her what she tells you." She had a melancholic look on her face.

"I know. I was hoping that maybe it might work."

"It won't but I think I can do something to make the time in here a little more interesting." She said hoping to move me off of that subject.

"What is it?"

"I was thinking its about time you started to learn how to use kunai and shurikens. You've done well in learning some basic taijutsu so now I think you can learn some basics in other areas." She smiled at me "You know I was worried a lot when we first got here. I wasn't sure if I could hold up my promise of taking care of you to Tsunade but thanks to you it has been a lot easier than I thought. Thanks, Tobi."

"Its been a lot of fun going on adventures with you. You've been doing so much for me and I know you always put me first. Its like your my sister taking care of me." My voice trailed off as I was embarrassed about that last part.

"I'm sorry I didn't quite catch that last part." She said teasing me

"You're like my big sister. OKAY!" I said as my face was completely red.

"You're too cute" She said with a laugh. She ruffled my hair like so many others have. "I think of you as my family too. Not all of my family is around anymore so being here with you, Tsuna and Tsunade has been amazing."

I took the moon stone out of my pocket and handed it to Shizune. "This is for you. When you think your Nidorino is ready to evolve that will help him."

"Wait I can't accept this since its your reward from that guy in the club."  
"I think he gave them to me to get me to help him talk to you. He kept asking only about you when we finished talking. I thought it was weird so I just made some stuff up." I told her as I never saw her interested in any guys before.

"What did you say about me It better not be anything rude or I'll make sure you'll never do anything other than running as your training from now on." She was flustered which I didn't expect.

"I just told him a bunch of stuff he seemed to take note of it and told me not to tell you that he asked." She got even redder as we talked a bit more but she always tried to change the topic.

"When I was in the hospital Kushina told me about political marriages. She told me how they work and I think Tsunade should do that for you. I can't have my sister being single for the rest of her life." Shizune had lost her last strand of rationality with that as she started to chase me all around the campsite we made. We ran around for a little bit and eventually we laid down watching the stars laughing until we fell asleep for the night.

Another month passed in the blink of an eye. Our training on shurikens and kunai went well. I was more surprised on this part as I thought my aim would be pretty bad. Every now and then I would practice my ninjutsu and chakra control. Tsunade had told me to concentrate on this when I got to an acceptable physical level first. Shizune had said I was getting close so she allowed me to do a little bit. I was finally able to form a proper wood style jutsu but the log I made was about a foot tall right now. I created a water jutsu that honestly I probably will never show to anyone else. It's like a party trick that a certain useless goddess might use. I called it water style bubble explosion but it's even worse than the bubble attack I saw a squirtle use in the dungeon. I mean I did use that as a basis for this it just hurts my pride knowing that this is the best I could do right now. The quest reward for creating a jutsu was given out to me for making it. Turns out it was so weak that the quest gave me nothing.

I found out that Ivysaur loves to eat flowers. Whenever I make some he will always try to eat some. Then he'll play around with them and finally end up sleeping on them. It has gotten to the point when we camp out he refuses to sleep without flowers underneath him. Lava however has to ruin everyone's fun by throwing dirt on them most of the time. I seriously need to work with him as his standoffish attitude has only gotten worse. Shizune and I used both of our stones the other night and she was horrified that her cute little Nidoran was now a hulking mass of muscle. I had to hop on my new Arcanine to get away from her wrath that night. She went to bed that night telling her Cyndaquil to never evolve since it was adorable as it was.

The rest of our time passed by quickly. We were standing at the rift's exit preparing for what we might find when we get out. Shizune had prepared for battle while I just kind of sat there. I've improved a lot in these twelve weeks in here but I'm still not at the level of a genin. My biggest problem is I can't seem to get any better with chakra control. I wish I knew how to do it better but I was told to just keep trying the exercise Shizune gave me of keeping a leaf stuck to my forehead.

"Tobi, be ready for anything if you sense any danger send us right back." I took Shizune's hand and clicked the prompt. A sensation that I started getting used to was encompassing us. In a moment we no longer saw the cliff in front of us but the Senju Compound.

"Shizune are we safe?" I asked since I couldn't sense other shinobi yet. Shizune took a look around still ready for a battle at any time. Then slowly she dropped her stance.

"I can't sense anyone. Let's check around the compound and see if we can find any clues. Tobi you stay here and if there is any signs of danger or I don't check in after 15 minutes go back in. I don't want to hear any excuses Tobi. Until I can figure out if the danger has passed you're to stay right here understand?" I nodded. This was something she had to do so I could only watch as she walked away.

"Be safe, please." It took her ten minutes to come back. She told me there were signs of a fight but she couldn't figure out what happened besides that.

"I'm going to go into the village to see if I can find an update from the hokage. I want you to hide back in the rift. If you don't see me in this courtyard then immediately go back in. Until you hear from me that it's okay to come out stay inside Tobi. I'm counting on you." With that she pat my head, gave me a smile and waved farewell. I did as she said and went back in the rift. I cursed the fact that I was a hindrance and even after all this time I still had no idea what was going on. Just like she asked each day I visited outside. It took 3 days or six hours depending on which clock you wanted to use before she was back at the compound. On the porch in front of the frog pond she sat there with a smile on her face. "Glad you're back Tobi. They're waiting for you inside." I didn't drop my guard since I know I can't tell if its an imposter. I didn't move an inch from the spot nor did I speak. I just stared at her trying to figure out if I can believe her. I took out one of the shurikens I received from Shizune. I can only hit 4 out of 10 targets right now so I can't say I'm good with these yet.

Shizune didn't have any reaction to me pulling out my shuriken. She just sat there smiling still which kind of upset me. It made me feel uncomfortable. I can't remember her smiling this much is that why? I threw my shuriken at her it was off course but it should hit her somewhere. She didn't bother to move as it ended up hitting behind her.

"Perfect Tobi." Shizune then made a hand sign and released a jutsu. Tsunade had done a transformation jutsu to turn into Shizune. I have to say I'm pretty confused but I took out a second shuriken just in case. I still haven't said anything but I started scanning my surroundings a bit more without taking my eyes off of Tsunade. Part of me wanted to jump back inside and the other wanted me to believe that it really was over. I mean I haven't seen Tsunade or Tsuna in over six months if we include the time in the rift. It might have been just more than a month for them but I really missed them.

"Is it really you?" I asked hoping to find something to that could tell me it's true.

"Yeah it is. Tsuna you can come out now." As soon as she said that a door opened up and a little girl ran out of the house towards me. She jumped on me with enough momentum to send me straight to the ground. Tsuna just cried on my chest happy to see me and looking over us was Tsunade. "That was perfect Tobi. You didn't blindly believe what you saw. I can't tell you how proud I am of you right now. You may not be strong now but you have a good heart."

Tsunade picked us both up and brought us back over to the porch. Tsuna continued to cry into her mother's clothes while I noticed Shizune, Mako, Koko and Konan. I shivered when I noticed the last one. I still had no idea what she was doing with the leaf. I couldn't understand why Tsunade was keeping her here. Had her story changed from what I knew?

"Tobi how's your injury? I heard you managed to use a real wood style jutsu to stop the bleeding that day."

"I heard that I did but I don't remember. I've been practicing and now I can make a little bit of wood but it's not very useful" I told her how I could barely make a two foot tall branch now. It takes up most of my chakra since my control is so poor.

"Incredible even I can't use that and he was my grandfather. I'm proud of what you've done while I was away. Shizune has told me a little bit of what you two have gone through in the time we were gone." She rubbed our backs showing how much she cared about Tsuna and I. She took the two of us inside and we went to a meeting room that's usually used to entertain guests. Everyone took a seat in the room and Tsuna sat next to me holding onto my arm. I looked at Tsunade but she shook her head telling me not to ask. I was curious if she was now like me. Hopefully she was just shaking her head to try and tell me that she's my problem instead of hers right now. Once everyone was settled Tsunade began to talk to us.

"I have to apologize to everyone here. I failed you and I failed this village. We underestimated our opponent and we lost a lot of people because of it. The blame lies with me and because of this all that is left of our Senju Clan is in this room. We were overconfident in ourselves and allowed an enemy to strike where we were weakest. Tobi I don't know how exactly you weren't abducted but you should know Danzo had abducted numerous children from different clans all over Konoha. This includes Tsuna, the two children of the Namikazes, some Hyuuga children and other smaller clans. The only clan unaffected by this were the Uchiha because the operatives who was sent there was killed by one of the children there."

"Then that means the past month you have been..?"

"Chasing after what was left of his organization to rescue the children."

"Shizune has filled me in on the time you have spent here. A while ago you encountered a few masked men here which were most likely sent when we had rescued Tsuna as the last of the kidnapped children. Those men were killed by Minato and Jiraiya who had come to check on you while I was away." I had a nagging thought this entire time. That I was the cause of this. I was the cause that led to Tsuna and apparently the other children all getting kidnapped. I know thinking like this isn't good but it was something that always lingered at the edge of my mind. Just enough to not be affecting me but not entirely forgotten. On the other hand if I had let Danzo do what he wanted how much more powerful would he be in the future? What if he became the next hokage. Sasuke most likely won't join The Akatsuki in this life since Itachi never massacred the clan. If he was elected to be the Hokage at any point then the village would be shaped by his twisted vision. When thinking like that I could hold my head up high thinking I did the right thing.  
"Is he...dead?" If he isn't then it will be a problem for the future. I can only imagine how he'd want to get revenge for this. Would the Akatsuki be willing to support him or would he and Orochimaru become allies instead of just having a mutual interest.

"Unfortunately he got away in the end. We managed to eliminate most of those loyal to him while a few were taken into custody. If we're lucky we might be having a new member join our clan. We will have to await the word of the Hokage on that."

"Did Yamato turn traitor against Danzo?"

"You know about him? Hmm, I thought you might be able to guess it which means…" She paused in thought before stopping herself "Nevermind we can talk about that later. If the hokage approves I wish to have him teach you as much as possible. I haven't heard too much about him but there are people who vouch for him."

After that Tsunade recounted the events of what happened and each person added what they did. Konan stayed silent in the corner. Mako talked about how his group had been surrounded and he was the only survivor. One of the Senju members he had managed to save had died during treatment. Koko talked about how she had participated with a few jonins of the village on scouting missions. It didn't take long until the meeting was over and that we would hold a memorial ceremony for the members we've lost. Tsunade had used our guards to supplement trying to take down Danzo and his men. We lost 13 people and 4 more were injured to the point they can't continue to work as shinobi. Tsunade said she would find them a way to make a living and thanked them for their service. Mako, Koko and Konan all apologized to me for not being able to protect me. I told them there was nothing they could have done differently. How could they stop something they weren't there for. It didn't take long for things to calm down considerably.

"There is one last thing I want to say before we end this meeting." Tsunade said as the room once again became quiet. "Konan on this mission made me proud. She single handedly rescued seven children from three different bases that we infiltrated she also dispatched four different jonin level ninjas by herself. Without her many clans would not be celebrating their children's safe return. Konan, on behalf of Konoha and The Senju Clan I'd like to extend to you our gratitude. As I promised you beforehand from this point on I'd like to formally adopt you. If you wish to accept you will be able to call yourself Konan Senju. If this isn't what you want then I will fulfill whatever wish you do have. You have our thanks." Tsunade smiled as she then embraced Konan and told her once more how proud of her she was.

"I would be honored to accept." She had looked around the room with a smile on her face. She was happy and so was the rest of the room. There were cheers from the others and Tsuna was excited to have another sister. I was the only one having a problem accepting this as it just felt so wrong.


	13. Chapter 13: First Day

A little over a year and a half has passed since Konan was adopted and Danzo was expelled from the village. The two elders were arrested and tried for treason. They haven't been seen in public since that day and I haven't heard anything from Tsunade or the others about them. The village has changed a lot compared to the story I once knew. The village is peaceful overall but knowing how this world works I'm sure something else is happening. It was at this point in the original that the Uchiha clan would end. So far they have been thriving and Minato has lessened the pressure the clan's felt. The refugees from the Mist Village have found their own way to live here and have made a pretty seamless transition to living here.

Today was my first day in the academy. Tsunade and Tsuna had walked me here to see me off for my first day. Tsuna has grown a lot in this time and she's approaching her sixth birthday. Inside the entrance for the academy I didn't recognize many of the people here. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. There were two Uchihas in the class but I have never heard of them before today. The only reason I knew who they were was because of the crest they wore on their back. I guess that makes sense considering what happened in the other timeline.

There weren't any other kids who were from clans. I was kind of disappointed since I doubt those two Uchihas have awakened their sharingan. Tsunade had told me to have fun and took Tsuna to go walk around the town. She took today off from her work as she wanted to be sure to drop me off this morning. I could tell that she's really enjoying being a parent. The classroom I walked into had seating like a lecture hall. I took a seat in the middle rows on one of the sides. I didn't want to sit in the back of the class as I wanted to make some friends here. I needed to talk with more people as I rarely left the Senju Compound. I found out recently I had gotten the reputation in the village of having poor health. This led to some weird rumors about me as others assumed that was my reason for staying inside.

Some people speculated that I had a terminal illness. Others said that I was a fake that the village wanted to use as propaganda in case war broke out. When I did leave the compound I was hardly recognized so I didn't have much problem wandering around. Tsunade is still called princess by a lot of people. I really hope that I don't get called prince or something similar when people finally do recognize me. I wonder if that will happen when roll call is done here. People started to filter into the classroom and a girl entered the row I was sitting in.

"Hello, my name is Akaba. It's nice to meet you" She said taking the seat next to me.

"Likewise. My name is Tobi." I said returning her greeting. Before I could start anything resembling a conversation she had opened a book and was waiting for the class to start. I looked around and it seemed like there were already groups of different children formed. Our instructor walked into the room and to my surprise it was Iruka Umino who introduced himself. This was going to be his first class as an instructor. He started roll call listing off each name on the class roster.

"Satou Akari?"

"Here" A plain looking student in the front row raised his hand.

"Hina Cross?"

"Here" A girl from the back row had called out

"Akaba Miyamoto?"

"Present" The girl sitting next to me said as she dropped her book.

Iruka called a few more names before mine

"Tobi Senju?"

"Here" I said raising my hand. The room got quiet once my name was called as all of the background noise disappeared. I looked behind me wondering if there was something there but there wasn't. The girl next to me dropped her book as she stared at me. For some reason her face was in panic.

"Is there something weird about my name?" I asked her since she was still staring at me. Iruka took the chance to continue calling out names.

"No, uh, I mean... No there isn't anything strange about it." She had a hard time trying to get her words out. Then she quietly asked me "Are you from that Senju Clan? The one related to the first and second?"

"Yeah. That would be where I'm from is that why people were looking at me weird?"

"Well they say the heir to the Senju Clan is a sick boy who can't leave his bed. That he's so weak that he's never been outside. Are you sure you're the same person?" She asked as she was eyeing me.

"Oh that? I was sick when I was younger. I got better because of my aunt since she's pretty good with that stuff." I told her trying to gloss over pretty much all of it. Class resumed and for the most part it was an overview of what to expect since it was our first day. The first year of class was mostly learning the academic side with a lesser focus on preparation to be a shinobi. The village was no longer at war so they let up on the aggressive training measures of the past. The last thing that happened during the day was a speech by Minato about the will of fire. He didn't treat me any differently from the other kids which I was happy about. If he had then he would have created a rift between the rest of the class and I. I'm sure the two Uchiha boys aren't going to create one anyways with their obsessive desire to be the best or their curse. I really hope those two don't become a problem I'd rather be friends with their clan than enemies. Hopefully they'll feel the same way. I'm all for having a rival since it would be fun but I don't want or need to be the best.

There was still plenty of time for the rest of the day so I took my time walking back. I was thinking about what kind of present to get Tsuna for her birthday as I walked through the town. I didn't really have a destination in mind. Eventually I wound up looking for flowers in a shop. I had bumped into a little blond girl who was trying to help her parents out. I apologized before going back to looking around the shop. I was curious to see if I could make the flowers I saw here but I didn't want to be rude. I ended up buying a few of them to bring home to try for myself.

A lot has changed here in the past year and a half. Konan had become a lot more comfortable with living here. I spent a lot of time watching her but we never really interacted much. She still seemed cold and aloof to others besides Tsuna and Tsunade. I walked by her on my way to my room. She carried a few of the plants I had bought which was nice of her. Other than what was needed we didn't bother talking. We parted ways when it was time for my training. We remodeled a bit of the backyard of the compound to have a training area for all members of the clan. Koko was my teacher today but it wasn't always like that. After Danzo's Rebellion some of his root members were forgiven and pledged their service to the village. One of them was entrusted to our clan due to his abilities. Yamato was hired to be a shinobi for the Senju Clan under the orders from the fourth. Tsunade then had him as a teacher for Tsuna and I.

Tsuna has been labeled a genius in many different ways. First she got her chakra control from her mother which shocked all of us. She overtook me a long time ago in that department. Not to mention she can use wood style which she had been copying from watching me try it. I managed to complete the quest I had to teach Tsuna a while ago. Since then I would spend some time to teach Tsuna a little of what I could do. She was much further ahead in some regards than I was but it helped me to think about what I was doing more. Changing my perspective to teaching instead of learning allowed me to get a little better in controlling my chakra. I had started the leaf exercise over a year ago and I just barely completed it recently.

In the training field Koko was training with her pokemon. Her Zorua had evolved and its illusions were on par with jonin level ninjas. Once it evolved its speed had reached another level and it stunned most of the clan's guards. I could barely keep up with the two as they constantly used illusions and clones to clash with each other. I couldn't believe how much she's grown with her pokemon. Noticing me in the area they stopped.

"You're here Tobi. How was the first day of the academy? Did you make any friends?" She asked as she's become more of a friend to me than a guard.

"It was fine. Some people looked at me differently when they heard that I was part of the Senju Clan. I guess we really do have a bit of a reputation."

"It's only fair as the clan has regained some of its lost glory. Some people will be jealous, some will be upset and others won't care. Just do what you always do and don't let it bother you."

"I know. I was hoping to make friends who wanted to be friends with me not because I'm a Senju. I don't think that's going to happen anymore as a lot of them are from civilian backgrounds. I only recognized two kids that wore clan crests and they were both from the Uchiha."

"In that case you might not have much competition there. That's a shame I guess I'll just have to be more serious here to make sure you don't slack off on your training." She said with a smile as she sheathed her sword on her back.

"Today's lesson will be a little different. Yamato will be here in a moment to tell you what you're doing."

"Works for me. Also should we have our friends spar a little bit?" I said as I let Arcanine out of his ball. He's grown a little bit bigger than the average Arcanine as he's now over seven feet tall compared to average of six. Koko's Zoroark had appeared to her side asking for her permission. After she nodded the two ran away from our sides to have their fun. These two have been fighting non stop since I caught him as a Growlithe. They were still going when Yamato showed up. He took one look at the two in the background and then moved towards us.

"Koko, have you told him what he will be doing today?"

"No I left that for you. Once you got here I had something to do for Tsunade so I have to leave."

"Alright I'll take over. Tobi, today I will be having you try to climb a tree. So first thing you need to do is…" Yamato continued his explanation as he made a few hand signs. He slammed his hands into the ground to grow a tree around forty feet tall. "Now I'll show you an example of how this works."

He slowly started to walk up the tree perpendicularly pointing out that he had chakra in his feet to allow him to do this. He walked up to the top finished his lecture and then walked down without any misstep.

"All I saw you do was show off that you're better at both of those things than I am." I said as I was upset that I can barely make a five foot tree. The average height of an eight year old is between forty eight to fifty two inches. I could just barely make a tree larger than I am. My first attempt at trying to walk on the tree ended in failure. My chakra couldn't grab hold of the tree so I ran up a few feet and landed on my back. I spent the rest of the day doing this. I didn't get more than five steps before falling.

My days went by just like this for a few weeks. The only thing to note was that at night Tsuna would have nightmares in her sleep. When I asked about them she wouldn't talk about them but she'd often shake in her sleep. In those cases I'd hug her to make sure she knew I was there. Often times that would make her calm down a little. I brought it up to Tsunade hoping she might know what's happening with her but she didn't give me a follow up.

Mako has probably changed the most in the past year. He managed to do something a little weird with the pokemon he captured. First he caught a Spinarak which he evolved pretty easily. He had it round up a few dozen other spinaraks to follow its lead as he took them to hide in the woods around the compound. His Araidos uses the spinaraks to keep watch of the clan's grounds. Somehow they've become smart enough under his Ariados's guidance to be able to send messages when intruders happen to wander in. Recently Tsunade has been sending him on a lot more missions. She has been without a guard a lot recently and will often take trips for training here and there.

Inside of the rift we have mapped out everything before the trials and Shizune and Koko have begun getting involved with the adventurers club. Everyone pooled enough money together to build a large house on the outside of the village near the cliff the rift is at. We set it up so we could be far away from town to use it discreetly while also being near the rift for easy access. We now leave copies of everything inside since that is the safest place for our clan. We still haven't brought Yamato inside but he knows about it. Tsunade wants to use it as a reward for him later where we will present him a pokemon that would suit him. The best recommendation right now for him is a Treecko.

Our first taijutsu sparring class was the most fun I had in a long time. My boredom with the academy had subsided a bit as I found someone to look forward to seeing. His name was Takashi and he was the son of small store owner in the town. He asked Iruka to spar me as soon as the class started. I had no reason to refuse so I quickly got up and walked to the ring.

We both made our seals of confrontation as Iruka had instructed us to do. Takashi decided that he'd make use of his bigger frame to come at me. I'm on the shorter and weaker side of our age's average since I slept for four years. Tsunade said I'm almost where I should be but I don't really mind. As long as I can do what I want to do I'm happy. Takashi's punch wasn't as heavy as I expected it to be. Sparring with many different jonins from the clan made his speed slow in my eyes. I dodged his first punch as it was clumsy. I circled around him where he decided to throw a few more wild punches at me. I dodged them as well trying to figure out if this was the extent he could fight to.

In my split second of wandering thoughts he launched a kick towards me that I was late reacting to. I couldn't dodge in time so the kick landed on my arm. I jumped back and I could hear the roar of the other students around us. Takashi must have felt it too as he had more spirit in his eyes. He launched himself forward again throwing more punches but this time I wanted to counter them. His first punched was easily dodged by leaning a little to my right. With that moment I lifted my left leg to send a kick to his side. Takashi caught it before I could connect.

"Gotcha" He said confidently with his grip on my leg.

"Are you sure about that?" I said with a smile before using my leg being held as a pivot. My other leg came from his blindside towards his head. I didn't kick him with everything I had as we were sparring. The kick connect with the side of his head and he let go of my leg. His body was off balance and he stepped back a few times before falling over. Iruka called the match after that before the rest of the class got excited.

"Now form the seal of reconciliation" Iruka told us as Takashi got back onto his feet.

"I can still go." Takashi said with a bit of anger in his voice.

"Tobi has already won the match the moment you fell down. Make the seal and let the next group go Takashi. There will be plenty more times for you to spar." Iruka said trying to please his student. Takashi and I both made the seals and left the ring. I walked to his side where he seemed upset.

"I didn't think there would be anybody in this class who had an instinct for fighting already. That was a lot of fun Takashi, thanks." I said. I didn't want to stick around incase he was a bit of a sore loser so I left before he could answer. I'd probably be in the same situation if someone got the upper hand on me after I challenged someone.

"I'll win next time. Until then don't lose to anyone else" He said with a smile on his face.

"No problem. You do the same." I sat down in the corner watching the rest of the fights. I was a little disappointed. If I was a few years older I could have been in Itachi's class or Kabuto's class for the academy. I'm not sure if he'd be in the academy but I knew he would only be a few years older than me. If I was a few years younger I'd be with most of the cast from my memories. Unfortunately I was stuck in a class of extras. I didn't know a single name when I went over the class roster. If I was lucky maybe I could find someone who would interest me. If there isn't then class would be boring for the next few years. None of the other spars held my interest. A few girls had promise but weren't used to hitting others at this point. Some of the guys had the opposite problem. They were closer to brawls than any sort of actual martial arts. I was called out by three more people to fight but I refused them all which Iruka allowed.

The rest of the academy wasn't that big of a deal for me. In academics I was towards the top. In Taijutsu I was first for now since I've been receiving training for about two years now. Once the other start to do this as well I'm sure they will easily surpass me and I'll drop down to an average rank. In ninjutsu there were already people better than me since I'm still having control problems. This affected my reputation in class more than I thought it would. Akaba told me it was weird that I was so good in everything else but not that great at control. It was kind of expected that a kid from a clan would have it mastered to a good extent already. I didn't let it discourage me but I decided from now on I might as well try to fix that problem. I didn't want to lose to anyone in the class. Thinking about people passing me by and leaving me behind gave me the motivation to finally tackle the issue of my poor control.

My clones were just as impressive as Naruto's was before he learned the shadow clone jutsu. Which means I wasn't proud of it. My transformation jutsu wasn't much better either. I spent the next week at home trying to figure out my problem with no progress. Trying to climb the tree in the practice ground was just as painful as the first day I tried. Laying underneath the tree I stared up into the sky wondering how I could solve this. I've learned a few new jutsus of lower rank just fine and my capacity is above average for my age now. If only I can have just average chakra control I could be able to pass and become a genin. It's not that I wanted to become one now but I wanted to know I had the choice.

I asked everyone I could for advice. Koko just told me to do what feels right when I mold and move my chakra. Doing that only led me to believe that no matter what I do it will only feel off. Mako told me to concentrate harder and use only what I needed. He was an efficient shinobi so I wasn't surprised by his advice but it ended up in failure. Just in case I asked Tsuna how she does it and it just showed the difference between us.

"Well when I do a jutsu like the wood one you showed me I just think about it and then it works. I mean I just gather it up there and do this and then that and there you go." Tsuna said as she used her wood style to make a fifteen foot tall tree in front of me. I couldn't understand her explanation but I knew she had great control. Just when I thought it couldn't get worse she walked up the tree and told me that she just learned this by watching me. If she wasn't so innocent, adorable or funny I'd hate her. I was jealous of her but my pride in her outweighed those ugly feelings. Since Yamato was teaching me this past week I had already heard his answer. I only had two left and wasn't sure who to ask first.

Konan was sitting in her room when I went to ask her about it. Her appearance was much different than in the show. The biggest change was that she had long hair that she often styled differently instead of the short haircut that I knew. She also didn't have the trademark flower in her hair. After I knocked and entered she put the scrolls she was reading down. I really didn't want to ask her for help but I'd rather use all my resources available. My desire to get stronger won out over the potential threat she was. I sat across from her and she gave me her undivided attention.

"It's rare for you to come here." She said as she finished rolling up her scroll.

"I need some help in learning how to control my chakra but I don't know what I'm doing wrong. It's bothering me a lot and I'm starting to get frustrated by it."

"I'm sure you've asked a lot of people before me and their answers didn't help either." I nodded as she knew I wouldn't come see her to just talk with the two of us.

"Have you tried taking a break and taking a step back?"

"No I haven't. Until I started the academy I never really thought too much on improving my control. Now that I see people passing me by in class it's bothering me. I don't like being left behind by others." I spoke the honest truth. I don't like being passed by like this. It makes me feel like I won't be needed by others or worse that I won't be able to survive against some of the strong shinobi that I know. Konan showed a rare look on her face before responding to me.

"Yeah I know how that feels. Tobi, you should try taking some time to put your mind towards other things before tackling this again. If you take your mind off of this maybe you can come back to it and tackle it from a different angle. If you rush head first into this the way you are you'll just be blinded by yourself." Konan had gathered some chakra and released her paper jutsu. "When I gather my chakra I focus more on what I want to do and then will my chakra to do it. I'm not sure how others do it but this is what I've gotten comfortable doing. My control comes from my will which I'm proud of. Whether this helps you or not I'm not sure."

I stayed quiet as I thought about her words. It was a little different than what I've been told and it might work if I try thinking about it the way she said. She let me sit in her room as I stayed lost in thought. Occasionally she'd smile while reading her scroll that she had unrolled from earlier. I spent a lot more time in her room than I thought and I made my way to leave. There wasn't anymore time today to train and I wasn't going into the rift today. On my way out Konan called out to me. "I'm glad you stopped by. I know you're still having trouble accepting me but I want you to know I think of you as my family. I hope someday you might feel the same."

With that said I left her room without responding. Somewhere deep down I was hoping that would be true. A time where we wouldn't have to be enemies would be great. I laid in bed that night thinking about everything from today. I didn't make any progress at all but I didn't feel that it was useless. Tomorrow would be another day.

The next person to ask about my chakra control was Tsunade. She was the only person left that I wanted to ask. Shizune was too busy doing most of the work Tsunade was supposed to do. It wasn't until after breakfast finished that I had a chance to ask her.

"Auntie do you know why I'm having trouble with my chakra control? I just can't seem to get it right."

"Everyone one gets it at their own point in time." She said as her expression said that I was being too impatient. "There's no need to rush to get stronger Tobi. You have time so relax and it might come to you easier."

Tsunade thought I was overworking myself as I have never once missed my training. I never missed my training since I wanted to survive in this world. I know how ugly it will be in the future and I wanted to survive. The scar on my chest was still there from that day. It served as a constant reminder that there are plenty of things that I can't see coming. While my body has recovered to about average for my age my time spent training was definitely above average. I wasn't sure how I compared to the children in other clans though.

"It's really bothering me. I know I shouldn't compare myself to others but it's frustrating seeing so many other people that will pass me by soon." I said hoping she'd know what I was doing wrong.

"Alright I'll see if I can help you." She said as she pat my head. "Let's head out to the training area and see how you're doing."

She had me gather my chakra. I made a hand seal and gathered the chakra I could. Tsunade just stared at me for a bit before telling me to stop. She had a perplexed look on her face. It was like she saw something unexpected but wasn't sure if she was right.

"Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing that you're doing. I'm just curious about something. Hold on a second" She said as she performed the summoning jutsu. A large blue and white slug appeared next to her.

"I just summoned Katsuyu to be an extra pair of eyes for me. Now try again and let's see if she can confirm my suspicion." I gathered chakra once again. After another minute Tsunade told me it was enough. She talked with Katsuyu for a bit before letting me know that it might be time to learn summoning jutsu for myself.

"Tobi for now your chakra problems won't go away. I have an idea of what your problem is but I need to do some preparations to help you out." Tsunade said as she sent Katsuyu back. "I need to make some preparations for this so just give me some time as I need to find you a proper teacher for this."


	14. Chapter 14: Taking Risks

I had my ninth birthday the other day. Tsunade had estimated from my stories a rough date for when I would have been born. Originally my birthday was supposed to be a small event in the clan but once invites were sent out to people from my academy class it changed into something else. Our clan has recovered it's position where Tsuna is now called the princess of the village and some people even call me a prince. I absolutely hate it but it's not something I can change right now. The clans in Konoha saw this as a way to make a good impression on me. Soon most of the clans of Konoha had managed to find a way to come to the party.

What was supposed to be a nice, enjoyable party to celebrate my birthday had turned into my nightmare. I spent most of my time that night entertaining guests along with Tsunade. There have been plenty of stories I've remembered with this kind of atmosphere and they didn't do it justice. I barely spent anytime with my classmates or others my age. Instead I had to talk to a bunch of people who wanted nothing more than to make a good impression. Fugaku looked at me with a slight hint of hatred in his eyes. The Uchiha weren't as looked down upon as before with the second but it hurt his pride to see the Senju's popularity with the village.

Talking with Mikoto and their children was a lot more enjoyable. Sasuke fawned over Itachi while Ruka hid behind her mother. The family looked a lot more harmonious than I thought. It made me wonder if in this life he'll still try to aim for the seat of power. I wondered about saying something to Tsunade or Minato. There is still the matter of that stone tablet but at this point I know that Fugaku has already read it. Even without the same circumstances he might still plot against the leaf. On the opposite end of the spectrum Hiashi Hyuga spent his time talking up his daughter, Hinata. I could only think that he's trying to marry off his daughter so she could be of use to the clan. I wasn't sure if she had already lost his confidence or not but it wasn't looking good for her.

Minato showed up briefly while his family stayed for the full party. He had to go back to work shortly after arriving. Kushina was pregnant again making this the third child for them. Even when I wasn't around their family I could hear Naruto running around. I knew what he was like but I guess with having a family his antics were dialed back a bit. Akane on the other hand was so well behaved I didn't think of her as the same age as Tsuna. She just seemed more mature than the people around her. Kushina got upset at me when I kept staring back and forth between her and her daughter. I could tell she wasn't happy with me but then she just started complimenting her daughter. Then her mood would sour when Naruto would run through the hall doing something she'd be embarrassed about. The rest of the night was filled with other meetings that ended up with pleasantries and chatting that didn't interest me.

At the end of the night I fell asleep so quick that I don't remember entering my room. I couldn't believe how exhausting it was. My gift from my family was a teacher to help me learn the summoning jutsu. Tsunade had made preparations for this a while ago but apparently my teacher was out of the village on a mission. This lead me to believe that it would be Jiraiya who would teach me. I wasn't surprised even a little bit as I was now sitting across from him.

"Hey kid long time no see!" Exclaimed the white haired man.

"It's nice to see you as well Lord Jiraiya."

"Come on now. You know you can just call me Jiraiya, no need for formalities." I looked at him for a bit.

"Is pervert acceptable?" I asked with a serious expression. He didn't look very amused before he responded to me.

"How about sensei? Your aunt told me that you're having some trouble with your chakra control and asked me to see if I could help you out."

"That works for me. I'd like all the help I can get." I said as I haven't had any success while waiting for him to come.

"You've become a lot more confident in yourself since I've last saw you. Glad you aren't that scared little boy anymore." He said with a smile.

"Only when Tsunade is mad at me." I said as I'm still scared of her when she's in a bad mood.

"Aren't we all?" Jiraiya said with a hearty laugh. "Your aunt is a fantastic woman. You're lucky to have her."

"I know that. I've also told her that a lot. I'm thankful for her giving me such a great home as well." He looked happy to hear what I said.

"Good she deserves to have a family that loves her like you two do. Besides I see you've been taking good care of that necklace of hers."

"I have" I said as I clutched it in my hands. I suddenly thought of something that I wanted to say to Tsunade. "Speaking of which I need to say something to Tsunade in a bit. Do you know if she will be watching us today?"  
"She said she would watch us before she heads off to her meeting in the afternoon. Apparently there is a large meeting amongst the higher ups of the village that she has to attend."

"She never mentioned anything to me about that." Jiraiya had a smile on his face.

"Don't worry you'll know these things when you become the Patriarch of the Senju. No need to rush into the role. You should enjoy the youth while you have it." He laughed at me again. He wasn't wrong in what he said since Tsunade didn't inform me of all of the clan's business.

"Well let's get to it. I heard that you guys have a training field here now? Let's head over there to start." Jiraiya had me lead the way as we walked through the compound. Our grounds we're constantly expanding and we bought more land around us. Eventually we had our backs to a forest that we owned. Our main building is slowly being surrounded by other houses and some miscellaneous buildings to be used by the clan. While we are nowhere near the size of the Hyuga and Uchiha Clans we are holding our own.

Once we arrived in the field Jiraiya had found some shade under a tree to rest. He put me through a series of tests before he told me anything. The first was to use grass and have them stick to my palm as I held my hands out. I could do that after a few tries. The second was to try running up a tree. The third was to use a few different jutsus. After those three he stopped me.

"I was planning on having you do a few other things but I think I have an idea of why Tsunade asked me about this. You see chakra is made up of two different parts. Do you know what they are?"

"Yes they're made up of spiritual and physical energy." I told him recalling the information I had learned in the academy.

"You've done your homework and what happens when those two energies are out of alignment?"

"You fail in creating your jutsus?"

"Well that's one way of looking at it. What I can tell from you is that you use much more chakra than necessary in forming or using your ninjutsu."

"You could tell that from just now?"

"Well yeah. I mean it's pretty simple to do when you can feel the flow of chakra around you."

"Then can you tell me what I'm doing wrong?"

"I can but you have to do something for me kid." Jiraiya said as he had a grin on his face. I wondered if this is what it feels like to make a deal with the devil.

"What do you want?"

"I want your help in thawing your cold aunt's heart towards me. If you can help me with that then I can help you as much as I can. If not I'll still teach you anyways." He said with another laugh. I think he enjoys messing with me. I was ready to retort to him but a few prompts showed up in front of me. I guess I wasn't the only one who wanted to help those two since I got rewarded with two prompts. [Help Jiraiya with his request. Reward: ? Failure: none. Do you accept? Yes/No?] [Perform the summoning jutsu today. Reward: Summoning contract Failure: Unable to improve chakra control. Do you accept? Yes/No?]

"That's fine" I said with a straight face with no hesitation.

"Wait? Huh?" He said a little shocked.

"I don't mind"

"Kid do you know what I'm talking about?"

"A little but I don't know why you want it to happen. I just know adults want to be with people because they like them."

"You're not wrong but I feel like there's something off with your answer." He said trying to find out what he felt was wrong about what I said.

"Okay kid the first thing you're going to need to do is figure out is finding the balance between the two energies that make up your chakra. To do that you need to..." He went into a long winded explanation which was a mix of what I knew and a few things I haven't heard before. He let me try to practice on my own for a bit as he pulled out a notebook to start writing a bit. At some point Tsunade came and sat down next to him as she watched me go through the exercises he gave me. The two had talked for a bit when Jiraiya had interrupted me.

"Have you noticed anything weird since I asked you to do this?"

"No matter what I do something just always seems off? I can't shake the feeling that there is something blocking me from doing what I want."

"Good, good. You've started to notice your problem. What do you think is blocking you?"

"I don't know." I said as couldn't think of what it could be. I'm not a host to a tailed beast like Naruto or Kushina. There shouldn't be any other chakra to get in the way of me doing this. Maybe when I was being experimented on something happened and that's the cause? I got upset and sat down with an obvious pout on my face. How was I supposed to know something that I don't. Should I head to the library and try reading through some more scrolls on this?

"Jiraiya is what I thought really the case?" Asked Tsunade from his side.

"You're going to spoil all my fun today." He said with a smile

"You're not joking about this?"

"No but it looks like the kid doesn't even realize it himself which is a bit of a shame."

"What are you two talking about?" I asked hoping someone would fill me in.

"Alright kid, here's the deal. The reason for your chakra problems is that you've unconsciously been adding a third element to your chakra throwing the balance all over the place. To compensate for that you've been using up more of your other elements to try and overpower the part you accidentally let in. That's why you have trouble with your control. In order to fix this you need to learn how to utilize nature energy." Now it made sense why Tsunade specifically wanted him to teach me. If this was then there would only be two people that could teach me this in the village one was him and the other was Minato. Since she can't ask Minato for the favor due to others seeing it as a political move she opted for Jiraiya. Honestly getting him would probably be easier anyways.

"You're telling me I need to learn how to use nature energy before I can properly control my chakra?"  
"Yup." He laughed once more.

"What do you think is so funny about this?" Tsunade had glared at him "Is he going to have problems learning how to use regular chakra now?"

"Of course not. I just find it funny that the kid has to do something akin to learning how to run before he's even able to crawl. If he learns how to control nature energy then he should be able to figure out how to avoid using it for his jutsus. If he learns how to the nature chakra then he should be the youngest sage in the village in a long time. He should be able to use his normal chakra much better once he can feel nature chakra. Once he learns to control everything I think his ability will be much greater since I can already tell he has an above average chakra pool."

"Do you need to bring him to Mount Myoboku?" She asked wondering where we'll go from here. Sage mode was something that her grandfather, Hashirama, excelled at. He was able to enter it in a natural state while Jiraiya needed the help of the toads to extend his duration in sage mode. Minato unfortunately wasn't that adept at using it.

"I'd like to. If he has the potential to be a sage than I think the toads will be happy to help him."

"Does this mean I get to learn the summoning jutsu now?" I asked hoping that I would be able to.

"Hold your horses kid. We have some things to take care of first before we learn something like that."

"Like what?" Now that I think about it. I should already know the hand seals for the summoning jutsu. I think it was boar, dog, monkey, bird and ram. Wait no that doesn't sound right. Was it bird then monkey? Or bird then ram? Bird then monkey sounded right so I should try that one and see what happens. I already knew that Jiraiya had done this when he was younger and ended up fine. I was getting a little impatient now that I remembered I could perform the seals without being taught them.

"Well didn't you say you were going to help me out and not to mention we need your aunt's approval before I take you anywhere."

"Okay fine I'll take care of it now."

"Tobi, wait. Stop. Don't you dare." Jiraiya's attitude took a complete 180.

"Auntie." I called out to Tsunade to the horror of Jiraiya. "Jiraiya says he wants me to soften you up so he has a chance with you. He promised me all sorts of things if I told you the good things about him."

"Kid, you're rotten to the core. You know that? I can't believe you'd make up such lies in front of your aunt like this."

"He didn't say anything weird to you did he?" Tsunade asked after having her fist fall on top of Jiraiya's head. She was too used to him by this point as she just expected things like this. I shook my head to let her know.

"Good I wouldn't want him to infect you with his…" She stopped and I could only assume she was looking for the right word. "Hobbies. I have no problem with you going to train with him but don't pick up any of his bad habits."

"I won't besides I don't understand those things anyways."

"I'll tell you when you get older but for now keep doing what you're doing. It's better this way." She said as we both know I have a lot of knowledge about things I really shouldn't know about at this age. I held the necklace in my hand as I thought about how I could get these two a little closer together. I want them both to be happy and I thought that maybe things could change in this life for them.

"I see you've been taking good care of it." She said with a smile.

"I have. I'm sorry I almost made you regret giving this to me but if anything it proves that this isn't cursed." I said with my own smile at the end. Tsunade had a bit of a blush as she had a fleeting thought.

"What are you thinking about over there?" She asked as my smile only got bigger.

"Isn't it about time for you to find someone for yourself? I know I've probably started to get marriage proposals as a few of the guests hinted about how beautiful their daughters were during my birthday party." Jiraiya was awfully quiet to the side. I found out the reason why was that he was too fixated on Tsunade.

"Tobi what are you talking about?" She said as she tried to deflect what I said.

"The people you care about won't die anymore. There will be people in the future who will carry on the dream of Dan and Kawaki. I don't plan on following their dreams but I will help the ones who are meant to." I said as I took off my shirt to show my scar. " I've already showed that when I survived this. You should make up your mind on how you feel about things. You never know when it might be too late as Jiraiya might not always be here."

"Kid what do you mean by me not always being around."

"Tobi this isn't one of those cryptic visions you've had before?" Tsunade asked as we were still hiding the fact that I knew about this world as a story.

"Who knows what I'm saying? I'm just a kid." I said teasing the two.

"Do you know how to make him talk?" Jiraiya said as he looked at Tsunade.

"Yup. I know what makes him sing if you'd like." She said as she got up. She walked over to me and grabbed me by the collar. "You know I really don't like when you talk like this. I thought you'd tell me everything that we needed to know."

"I have done that and I know that you know I didn't tell you everything."

"So I was right in saying that this is from that?"

"Yeah but I just want you to be happy which is why I said it." Her expression softened after I told her that. "You took his death hard."

Tsunade let me down as her grip lost all of its strength. I took a couple of steps back and looked at her face. It showed that she had trouble accepting it. "How did it happen Tobi."

"I'm not going to tell you, at least not now."

"What did the kid say?" Jiraiya asked as he had recovered from his earlier beating. I could hear his wooden sandals as he approached the two of us. Tsunade told him what I said. Jiraiya held up a hand to his chin as he thought about it.

"Kid, can you tell us anything about it?" I shook my head as I was resolute on this. There were too many things this impacted as I wasn't sure how Akatsuki would look at this point in time. I knew they were going to wait until I was roughly eighteen to attack the leaf. Why should I tell them beforehand only to have them attack sooner. In the worst case scenario Pain would destroy the village and we wouldn't have Naruto to make him revive the dead. I couldn't let that happen.

"He's oddly resolute about not wanting to tell me. Something big must have happened if it resulted in your death." The two continued to talk about what it could be. Knowing that this was my chance to get out of here I took it. I bit my finger to use my blood as a catalyst. I wove the five hand seals needed and slammed my hand into the ground. A circle of seals extended outward from my hand as the two in front of me were forced out of their shock.

"Kid, what are you doing. You shouldn't use it like that." Jiraiya said as he started to run in my direction. Tsunade was already a step ahead of him but my figure vanished in the smoke. Once I slammed my hands down on the ground I felt like one of my rifts had forced me to enter it. I was sucked into something and I had no idea where this would go. The only reference I had was what Jiraiya had done when he did this to end up on Mount Myoboku. It was possible that he was extremely lucky to end up there while I might be thrown somewhere else entirely.

After what felt like forever I was thrown from whatever I was in. I found myself falling from the sky when I could see my surroundings again. In every direction I could see was vast plains with clusters of trees every now and then. I looked directly down to see that this wasn't a fall I could survive without luck. Today was the birth of a new fear in me. The fear of being thrown through a rift and free falling from the sky. I know it might be a bit specific but I could probably round it off at a new fear of heights. I was screaming at the top of my lungs for help.

Eventually I thought I was going to die but I didn't want to do so without a fight. I figured if I could find a way to slow my descent or roll I could find a way out of this. I thought about a wood style jutsu that could help me out. If I could make a tree at the right angle I might be able to slide down it to stop myself but I don't know if I had the Chakra for it. I used up all the chakra I could as I thought about the shape I wanted it to take. I closed my eyes as so I could concentrate better. I could feel the chakra change and leave my body. I knew I didn't have much time left so I kept my eyes closed while concentrating on the shape.

One second, two seconds, three seconds, five seconds went by with nothing happening. Ten seconds went by and I still didn't open my eyes. It wasn't until thirty seconds that I finally opened my eyes as I recalled what it felt like to be dead. This wasn't that feeling. I opened my eyes to find that I was surrounded by fur. I had landed on a furry animal most likely. I blinked a few times as I couldn't believe my luck.

"Hey kid are you gonna get off me anytime soon?" A deep voice had resounded from somewhere.

"Thanks for saving me mister." I tried to move but I kept getting stuck on his fur as I was almost entrapped within. It was like trying to walk on quicksand or a couple of feet of fresh snow. Every step I took my legs would get swallowed by its fur. It took me a bit before I managed to fumble my way off of its back. I landed on the ground a little awkward but nothing broke so I was content with that.

"What's a human like you doing here?" asked the furred creature in front of me. The creature was a lot larger than I thought it would be. It towered over me as it lowered its head to look at me. That was when I realized that it was a giant wolf and its canines were taller than I was.

"Where is here exactly?" I said slowly trying to gain a little bit of distance.

"Hmm. You don't know how you got here boy?" I shook my head hoping not to let him smell my fear. I knew if I talked right now I'd bite my tongue or do something stupid. "You're in the Endless Plains."

The wolf started to walk around me. Its huge paws shaking the ground each time he moved. I followed the wolf's head as he moved around me. I made sure to keep eye contact with the wolf as long as he was surveying me. If I could get him to acknowledge me then I may be able to find a clan willing to sign a contract with me.

"Interesting. For such a young human to not be afraid of me. It's been a long time since I've seen one like you. Most of the humans that I've seen have tried to run when they meet us." He said as he stopped his pacing. Once he did that we both stared at each other. He was the first to break the deadlock as he let out a loud domineering growl just a feet away from me. I wanted to run but I knew deep down I wouldn't survive if I did that. For some reason I was feeling that if I wanted to live through this I'd have to stand my ground. I'd have to be seen as something worthy of taking an interest in. The wolf's growl felt like it lasted hours to me.

"What's your name boy?" The wolf asked as he seemed different from before.

"Tobi Senju." I stuttered a bit almost biting my tongue. Although I stood my ground my dignity didn't stay in tact.

"Well boy what brings you to this place?" He said with a different tone.

"I performed a summoning jutsu without a contract and I ended up here falling from the sky. I knew it was risky but I didn't think I'd fall from the sky when I did it."

"You're lucky if some log hadn't poked me in the stomach I wouldn't have moved out of my nap" He said while looking over at the log that grew out of the ground. I froze upon seeing my failed attempt to save myself. If I landed on that I'd die from being impaled. The log I made had been sharpened at the end to the point where the ramp I imagined was closer to a giant spear.

"I'm sorry. I made that when I was falling hoping that it would help me out. Looking at it now the only help it would give me would probably be a swift death." The wolf grew angry after hearing that I was the one who made it.

"Boy did how did you think making a spear would help you out when you were going to fall on it?"

"I wanted it to be a ramp or a slide that I could fall along but I don't have the control to do it right. I have a problem with my control and I was hoping to find someone to teach me how to feel nature energy." The wolf looked at me and I was unsure of what it was thinking.

"I heard that there was once a man who could use wood like you did but I can't recall what his name was."

"That would be Hashirama Senju of the Senju Clan. He died a long time ago but I'm a member of that same clan. The current head is my aunt who is contracted with Lady Katsuyu." I said to the wolf.

"Ah yes the Senju Clan. I remember a long time ago one of the members of that clan made a contract with us. I can't remember his name now but I'm sure the patriarch does." The wolf decided to grab me and throw me on his back. "If you're a part of that clan then the patriarch might want to see you."


	15. Chapter 15: Priorities

Tobi had decided to use the summoning jutsu without a contract in front of me. He disappeared into a puff of smoke. Immediately I felt dread. I wanted to believe that I didn't just lose another family member. I tried looking for any sign of him that I could find. Unfortunately there wasn't a trace of him. At this point all I could do was trust in him to come back safely. I swear when that kid gets back here I will put him through hell. When I get back I'll have to look for any information regarding the summoning jutsu I could find. Maybe there is a way to try and summon him back. My displeasure was obvious to Jiraiya next to me as he tried to cheer me up.

"Look the kid can take care of himself. I mean I did the same thing when I was younger and I got lucky enough to find Mount Myoboku. I'm sure he'll find something similar."

"If he doesn't I'll make sure you pay the price. Also what do you mean you did this before?" I asked as I never heard about this.

"Yeah back when Sensei was teaching us. I was tied to one of those logs and he showed me Enma for the first time. I wanted to have a summon like him so I tried it without a contract like he just did. Then I ended up in the home of the toads."

"Well you better go there to see if he ended up there." I snapped at him.

"Calm down Tsunade. Being like this isn't going to bring him back any quicker." He said trying to get me to calm down.

"You should know by now telling someone to calm down does the opposite."

"Fine don't calm down but can you tell me something?" He asked as he was backing away from me.

"Go ahead. I don't see why I can't do two things at once." I said as I was getting ready to show how much I appreciated his help today.

"Do you believe what he said?"

"I do." My rage disappeared after I said that.

"Why?"

"He doesn't lie about these kind of things. He really does want me to be happy so I don't think he'd ever trick me like that." Thinking about it a bit more. It's possible that Tobi already knew about Jiraiya's experience as a kid. If that's the case was he hoping to end up on Mount Myoboku?

"Alright I'll believe in the kid's words." He said as began to sigh. "The way he said it means that something unexpected probably happened to me. He wouldn't have brought it up if it wasn't something that was unavoidable I think."

"I think you're right but we're not going to find out now. We'll have to wait until he's ready to tell us. If it was something ordinary he would have already told us."

"Well for now let's head back you have to get ready for the meeting soon anyways." The two of us walked back to the compound as we thought about what Tobi wasn't telling us.

"Did you teach him the hand seals to perform a summoning jutsu or use them in front of him?" It was bothering me. How did he know the seals for the jutsu. I don't remember teaching it to him.

"No I didn't." He said a little confused

"I never taught it to him either." I said as I realized that he already knew how to perform the hand seals for the jutsu. He just didn't have a reason to until now. He must have known from the beginning about what would happen to him. I started laughing once I realized that he had a better idea of what would happen to him than I did.

"What's so funny about this?"

"He already knew the summoning jutsu before this he just didn't have a reason to use it. Now that he knows that a summon can help him solve his control problems he decided to do it right away."

"How did he learn it? We were taught it by Sensei when we were younger and if you never did it then how?"

"If I had to guess he saw it in one of his visions as a kid. He still remembers them even now as he can recall the ones he already told me exactly the way I wrote them down a few years ago." I never told Tobi but I decided to write down everything that he told me. I thought I might be able to piece something together if I looked at them. Anytime he has let something slip I've made a note of it with the exact wording. There are only three people in our clan who have seen or read it Shizune, Konan and myself. We've been trying to use it to piece together a timeline of events hoping to find something he isn't telling us. The only thing missing from this was what I didn't want Konan to see yet.

Once we reached back to the compound Jiraiya parted ways saying he'd be back to make sure Tobi was alright. I went into my office to prepare for what needed to be discussed. The Fourth had called a mandatory meeting yesterday that was to be attended by the clan heads and select jonin. If it wasn't for this I would be a lot more worried about what happened earlier. Minato had told me that an unusual amount of shinobi have been captured from our village. This however wasn't the biggest reason for doing this. Kushina was expecting soon so while he was going forward with this meeting he was planning on using it as extra security for his child's birth. We still haven't come across the threat that Tobi told us about on that day which is why he's still being cautious.

I walked to Konan's room as I was planning on bringing her to the meeting. I wanted her to listen in on this as I still planned on a future where Tobi and her worked together. When I got there I saw her sitting in the lounge by the window. She slowly got up from the lounge she had been sitting in and asked "Are we heading out for the meeting?"

"We will in a minute. Before that you should know your cousin did something rather stupid."

"What did he get himself into this time?" She said with a hint of a smile crossing her face.

"He decided to use the summoning jutsu without a contract." Konan's face twisted to show her displeasure.

"What happened to him? Is he alright?" She asked in a frenzy.

"I think he'll be fine. We both know that he wouldn't take such a strange action without thinking it through first. It's either that or he used it to run away." I said telling her about my conversation earlier between the three of us. Including that we would have to make an addition in the book.

"You mean to tell me that he wants you to think about moving on?"

"Yeah that's what I think he was getting at. He said I took his death hard which leaves me with a few possibilities." Dan and Nawaki's face flashed through my head as I thought a little more about what he said.

"We can talk about that later when we discuss with Shizune tonight. I'm more worried about Tobi being on his own. He's not ready to be in a life or death fight. If something happens to him." Konan clenched her fists as she stopped speaking.

"He'll be fine. There is nothing we can do until he comes back. How do you plan on searching for him if you don't know where he was reversed summon to? I know you're an excellent sensor and scout but you have your limits as well. Not to mention there is the Hokage's order for not leaving the village without receiving a mission. That child is a survivor just like you. You've both come from such horrid situations to become what you are today. I'm just as proud of you as I am of Tsuna and Tobi. Don't forget that." I said trying to calm her down. "I heard that he also spent some time with you the other day. How was it?"

"It was nice. He still has his guard up around me constantly but I think his problem with his chakra control has him at the limits of his patience. If it wasn't for that I don't think he'd be this rash. I think it was the longest we've spent in the same room with just the two of us before."

"Don't worry I'm sure the day will come soon when the two of you will be able to understand each other. Let's wait a little bit longer and if nothing happens I'll be a little more forceful in my approach. I'm just as upset as you about this but if we force it more than necessary we might not have the results we want." I put my hand on Konan's shoulder to let her know I understood her problem. She sighed and then started to cheer up.

"I just want to have him treat me like Tsuna does. I don't want him to keep his guard up around me. I want him to rely on me when he needs it. I was so happy when he finally came and asked me for help. He actually asked me for help." She let her feelings out and then she hugged me when she was done saying what she wanted.

"It's alright. The day will come soon, I promise."

"Thank you mother."

"You should get ready. We will be leaving in fifteen minutes. Make sure to observe as much as you're able to. Let me handle the politics I want you to watch the others. We never know if there are still some rats left inside the village." I left Konan to go get ready myself.

The lecture hall was filled with dozens of ninjas. In the center of the room stood Minato waiting for the crowd to quiet down. Sitting behind him were Sarutobi, Kakashi Hatake and Ibiki Morino who were also waiting for this to start.

"Tonight there is something pressing that I want to talk all of you about. Recently our village has had a rise in missing nins while out on missions. We believe this to be an act of aggression done to us but we are unable to find out the cause or the whereabouts of those who have gone missing. It is because of this that I am forced to make a bitter decision. After tonight until we are able to verify the threat we are facing all ninjas under jonin rank are unable to leave the village without an approved mission. Security checkpoints will be tightened, patrols will be increased and capable jonins will now be sent out on missions to investigate the cause. Once we have established what the threat is we will then reassess our measures and make the necessary adjustments." The crowd went into an uproar and rightfully so. We've essentially put ourselves under martial law because of this. Minato waited for the crowd to quiet down once more. He then pointed to the first person who for a question and answer section.

"Lord Fourth how is this going to affect the clans and their businesses. It is vital that we allow our caravans to leave the village or otherwise we will run out of supplies." Fugaku Uchiha asked. He was the leader of the Uchiha Clan and the sole reason I decided to take a seat in the audience than on the stage. Since I've re-established the clan he's shown in an increase of aggression and pride. He views his clan above the village which is a cause for concern. Tobi once told us all it took was someone to whisper sweet things in his ear for him to rebel against the leaf. The last thing we need is a broken home if we are going to be facing a fourth shinobi war.

"I will approve the caravans to leave if they meet a new requirement for protection. I'm taking the safety of this village seriously so I am sorry for the loss of profits. I am trying to prevent the village from falling into disarray and I know that getting items will be harder but this is only a temporary measure until the threat passes." Minato didn't falter in his speech and chose the next question.

"I came here from The Village Hidden in the Mist is it possible that the mist is here for revenge?" Said a member of the audience I didn't recognize.

"Right now we don't have the information to reliably answer that. Any answer I give you right now would be my own speculation and I'd rather not give any false reports. Alright next question."

"How are the lower leveled shinobi supposed to earn their living if this situations drags on?"

"That's a good question. I don't have the specifics with me but we are making a contingency plan if this situation lasts longer than we expect. I'm sorry that I don't have a better answer at this time." Minato was doing his best to deflect this question as it looked he hadn't prepared for this to be a lasting situation.

"Is this going to affect the chunin exams that are scheduled in three months?"

"No this will not affect that unless the situation changes."

The question and answering event Minato was doing seemed to be dragging on. There was something bothering me about it but I couldn't put my finger on it. It was then that Konan put a hand on my shoulder to whisper in my ear. "Jiraiya's chakra level just spiked. It's possible he has entered combat."

"Are you sure?" Konan nodded as I was about to get out of my seat when my eyes met Sarutobi who shook his head. Was he also aware of what's going on with Jiraiya?

"Excuse me folks I'll be right back." Minato said as he disappeared off the stage. I looked back at Sarutobi to see him smiling. I relaxed back into my seat telling Konan to keep her guard up. If they were in trouble I wanted to be able to move immediately. Sarutobi took over the meeting as he began to speak to everyone. Minato was known for his teleportation jutsu so the audience came to their own conclusion to his unexpected absence.

Minato wasn't gone for long before he came back into the room. His entrance however caused a stir as he destroyed the floor from below. He passed through the now opened floor he created using his rasengan and landed to the side of it. He was scanning the room looking for something when another ninja behind the stage threw a kunai at a corner of the room where the walls meet the ceiling. It phased right through the man who was wearing a white mask under his hooded robe. The mask had a hole for one eye to see through. The man then dropped down from the ceiling landing on the ground away from the spectators. I didn't move yet but there were plenty of others who had become battle ready.

"Who are you?" Minato asked the masked man.

"Someone who just made a rather large miscalculation." The masked man observed the room. Minato disappeared in a flash as he appeared in the corner of the room that the kunai was thrown. The masked man looked up to find him falling while throwing a few of his modified kunai at him. His attacks once more phased through him and through the wall behind him chains came out. The chains wrapped all around the masked man tying him up in front of everyone.

"There are too many people here. Guess I'll have to give up on this for today. Fugaku you should provide me with some better information next time. I will remember this" He said as he vanished into thin air leaving only the chains where he once stood. A redheaded woman had appeared in a hospital gown from the otherside of the wall. All eyes stood looked at Fugaku who sat there with his eyes wide and speechless. A few jonin started to approach the clan head as he was still in shock.

"Fugaku do you mind coming with us and answer some questions?" asked Minato. Ibiki had a slight smile as he took a spot behind the hokage. I guess he wasn't the most popular clan head in the village. I guess Tobi was right when he mentioned that Fugaku cared more about his clan than the village. This wasn't even the most shocking part of it all.

"How could someone teleport like that." I heard from Konan beside me. I finally got up from my seat. I wanted to make sure Kushina was alright since she should have already delivered her child. I'm surprised that Shizune had let her go in this situation. She shouldn't be moving like that in her condition.

"Everyone I want to apologize to you before you leave. I knew there was a possibility that this could happen tonight but I couldn't take the chance of him not showing up. We believe that he was the one capturing our shinobi for information on the village since he lost his previous source. I will have people clean up this mess but please rest assured that this threat should be handled in due time. If you will excuse me I have to go see my newborn child and very tired wife." Minato once more flashed to Kushina's side as he embraced her.

"Did you put a tag on him?" She whispered into his ear which cause him to smile.

"Let's go see our baby?" Minato picked up Kushina and flashed away leaving a few people behind to clean up the mess in the hall. I looked at Konan who nodded back to me as we walked down to the room where Kushina was going to give birth. We arrived to see an injured Jiraiya leaning against the hall outside. Konan took the initiative to help him as her hand had a green glow over it. He winced in pain from her touch but settled down quickly.

"That bastard was tough. What happened upstairs?" He asked. Wanting to know what happened after Minato had joined the fight as he stayed behind to protect his family. Inside the room was a happy Namikaze family celebrating the birth of their newest member, Renny Namikaze. We left the family alone as we informed Jiraiya of the brief fight upstairs and his comment about the Uchiha Clan. He was thinking it over when Minato exited the room.

"I can't thank you enough Sensei. If it wasn't for you my family might have met a terrible fate."

"It's nothing at all. I'm glad to see that everything worked out for the best. I'm surprised by how this guy managed to infiltrate all the way here without anyone finding out about this. If we weren't expecting this I don't know what would have happened."

"I'll once again have to thank Tobi. Speaking of which where is he?" Minato asked looking at me. Konan had to look away or she would have been seen laughing a bit. Jiraiya just let out a huge laugh that ended up causing him a bit of pain. I could only sigh as I thought about how stupid his stunt was.

"He isn't here because we don't know where he is."

"You don't know where he is?"

"The kid decided to use the summoning jutsu without a contract right in front of us. He disappeared just like I did back in the day." Although everyone was laughing about it I was still a little worried about him. He still can't take care of himself right now. If he ended up being attacked where he went to.

"Don't worry Tsunade he's fine. I can still feel the mark I left on him but it's so far away that I can't teleport there with my current amount of chakra."

"Just knowing that it's there is a relief for me." I said happy with his news.

"Anyways come on in and meet my youngest daughter." Minato said with a beaming smile.

We spent a few hours with the Namikaze family to help them celebrate. The biggest reason for us staying there was to increase the guard around the nine tails. We left once Kushina fell asleep and Minato took the children home. Kushina was left under the watch of personally selected guards. Jiraiya disappeared once we left the hall most likely to go to a bar and tell his story to a hostess. Konan, Shizune and I traveled back to the compound while we talked about today's events. When we got back we saw something none of us expected. Tobi was sitting in the living room with two unconscious girls next to him.


	16. Chapter 16: Making a Pact

I was currently riding on the back of Ragnar, the wolf I landed on. We were heading towards his clan's den. He wanted me to meet their patriarch since I was possibly a descendent of one of their previous contractors. It didn't take long for Ragnar to reach their clan's den. He was telling me on the way that the wolf clans are divided into their own packs. If a human contracts with a wolf he won't contract with the race like the toads he will only be able to contract with a clan or an individual. Ragnar was part of the Nightwalker Clan who was ruled by their patriarch Roku. Roku was apparently a young cub when he contracted with a member of the Senju Clan as an individual.

Ragnar took me into a cave after a couple of minutes running. The cave entrance was a depression in the ground which opened up into a large tunnel. We followed the tunnel until it came to a large open area where the sky could be seen. Looking up I could see that there was an opening above us which had a waterfall come down. In the center of the cave was a lake that the water fell into. The walls of the cave were terraced and I could see numerous wolves on them. They ranged from all different sizes some of them were smaller than a normal wolf and others were taller than Ragnar.

"Welcome to the Nightwalker's Den kid." Ragnar said as he made his way through the opening. I noticed that all of the wolves on the terraces were looking at me. One of the wolves jumped down stopping in front of Ragnar.

"What are you bringing a human brat here for?" Asked the white wolf in front of us.

"What does it matter to you Haruka? I'm bringing him to meet with the patriarch." Ragnar told her as he brushed past her.

"Fine do what you want." She growled back at him.

"Don't worry kid she's all bark and no bite. Up ahead is the patriarch so get ready so you can ask him for what you want."

"Thanks for all your help Ragnar." We reached the patriarch and Ragnar let me down with a bit more dignity than the first time. In front of me was a giant wolf with a face full of scars. His coat was rough and his imposing looks made me respect the animal before me.

"Greetings Patriarch Roku. My name is Tobi Senju and I'd like to ask for your help."

"My help?"

"Yes. I'd like to ask for your help for a few things if it isn't too much to ask."

"Boy, you said you were a Senju?"

"Yes as of right now there are only a few of us where I am from. We're trying to revive the clan but there is a lot of work in front of us."

"When I was a young pup I once made a contract with Itama Senju. Are you related to that person?"

"Itama Senju was the great uncle of my aunt. I was an orphan before she took me in so I don't know exactly how I am related to him. His brother was the first hokage of The Leaf Village and a user of the wood style. I have inherited that ability which is why my Aunt took me in. I don't know if I am a descendent of that person but it is possible." I was honest about my relationship with the Senju Clan. I view myself as a member but I may not be by blood.

"Itama Senju was a naive boy but I liked him. It's a shame what happened to him and his brother. Before I listen to your problems I want to ask you a question. You have a similar smell to those brothers and I want to know if you think like they did. What is important to you? For someone so young that child had a lot of problems but he still couldn't understand what was important. So I ask you again what is important to you?"

"That's a little too vague Patriarch Roku. I can say that everything to me is important but that isn't the answer you want or the one I will give. I have a lot of things important to me but they vary in terms of their importance. There are a lot things important to people other than me but I may not regard them as important. That doesn't change the fact that they are important. To me the most important thing is my family that is now constantly growing. I want to make sure that those around me are safe since they are so important. I also view the place I live as important so I want to make sure that my home is safe as well.

Just because I view those things as important doesn't mean I don't view other's lives as less important. The thing is I know I'm not strong enough to make sure what's important to me is protected which is why I came here. I know I'm a child but I want to make sure that in the future I will be able to protect those that I want to protect. In order to do that in the future I will need the help of others. I'll need to become strong which is why I have come here. I want the ability to survive what comes in the future instead of fearing it." Roku nodded once I finished. He didn't say anything or move. He just sat there for a bit. The wolves around me moved closer until I was completely surrounded on all sides by them. Roku began to howl while tilting his head to the hole above. Once he started the rest of the cave did the same. Every wolf around me was howling even the white wolf who earlier was against bringing me here. The howls lasted for a few minutes before Roku stopped the rest.

"Young one. That was a great answer. Itama couldn't come up with an answer like that and I lost him. A long time ago I forbid our clan from forming a contract because I didn't want to be caught up in the wars of the humans. I view my pack as too important to lose in a fight like that where only hatred is bred. I'd like to listen to your problems and if you'd like we could make a contract for the clan." Roku then bit the back of my clothes and hurled me onto his back. "Let's go talk in my home."

We moved to what I guess would be his room as we went into a tunnel behind where he was. The tunnel led to another clearing but it wasn't as large as the earlier one. The clearing was similar to the first one but this time it was a little different. The wolves on the side didn't get up when we appeared as they were too busy with the little cubs running around the place. There had to be close to a dozen of them. Roku walked over to what I'm assuming is his favorite spot and let me off to his side.

"Now tell me what troubles you."

"Okay. I need help in understanding nature energy. I've heard from my teacher that I have a problem of unconsciously putting it into my normal chakra which is causing me to have problems in controlling it. I didn't want to contract with the toads like my teacher is so I used the summoning jutsu without a contract hoping I might end up in a suitable place to make one. After performing the jutsu I was falling out of the sky and landed on Ragnar who brought me here. Also I need a way back to my village. I don't know how to get home from here." I could hear a chorus of laughter from behind me so I turned to see a few of the adult wolves laughing at me.

"I think I know someone who can help you with your chakra problems. As for finding your way home we can help you with that too. The problem is I won't let you learn our methods without a contract. That is for you to decide whether you want it or not."

"I don't mind making a contract if there isn't anything that I have to sacrifice to make it. I know some contracts require life in order to summon them and I refuse to do that."

"Boy do you really think we're like those morons in the snake clan?" Roared Roku as he was instantly upset by what I said.

"I don't think that's the case. I'm sorry if my words angered you."

"Its fine. All that we ask in return for the contract is mutual trust and cooperation. Making this pact is the same as becoming a member of our pack. This means that you can not under any circumstances make another contract with a different wolf clan. If you do our agreement is voided and we will take our payment."

"I can agree to this." Another wolf came over and spit up a giant scroll. It dropped down from their mouth and unrolled itself in between Roku and I.

"If you accept our contract then place your handprint here with a drop of blood as well. This will complete our contract and we can send you home. We can talk later about your teacher for nature energy." I did as he instructed biting my thumb and placing my handprint on the page. I was only the third name on the list and couldn't recognize the other name. The first was my ancestor who had made a contract. I was curious how his name had gotten onto this scroll but I guess I can ask that later. The scroll rolled itself back up and was eaten by that wolf again. Roku then took me on his back and walked back to the first area. He dropped me in front of a portion of the lake that was walled off from the rest.

"If you jump into this then you will return to where you were summoned from. When you get back perform the summoning jutsu once more so we have an idea of your location. That will make it easier for us to stay in touch."

"Thank you for everything Patriarch Roku. I really appreciate it." I jumped straight into the place he pointed out. I didn't feel that sensation that caused me to come here. Trees were surrounding me so I knew I was back to where I had done the summoning jutsu. Looking around there wasn't anyone around so I guess Tsunade and Jiraiya went back to the compound. I did the summoning jutsu once more and slammed my hand to the ground. The smoke cleared and I was face to face with a wolf with brown fur. I hadn't seen this wolf when I was in the clan's den.

"I guess I was the first one to get summoned. Where is this? And how are there so many trees here?" Asked the wolf.

"This is the forest behind our clan's compound. Can I ask what your name is?"

"It's Benji. So this is a forest? I've heard about them from pops before."

"Alright Benji what happens now? Do I need to do anything special?"

"No I just need to find the place you called The Leaf Village so we can have an idea of where it is. Also does your clan have a contract with the spider clan? I can smell a lot of them in this forest."

"No those aren't from the spider clan. They're something different that our clan uses to keep tabs on the forest since we have a lot of land. I have one that is similar to a wolf like you if you'd like to meet it."

"One like me? You've heard of the clan's contract yet you already contracted another wolf clan?" Benji had taken an aggressive stance away from me and showed his teeth ready for battle. For some reason I wasn't scared of these wolves and I didn't know why.

"No they're not a part of any clan. Let me show you." I said taking the ball off of my belt and let out Arcanine to show. He stood much taller than the wolf in front of me.

"What is that thing? It looks like a wolf but it doesn't smell like any I've ever met before. Also why do I feel so little chakra from a wolf of his size?" Benji was quite confused about the pokemon in front of him. Arcanine tried speaking to him and the wolf's face soon became unreadable to me.

"Interesting. I don't think the Patriarch will like that." Benji looked like he understood what Arcanine was saying.

"Benji can you understand him?" I said looking at Arcanine. I pet his fur and it looked like he was happy about it.

"I can he was talking about how he's the only one who will protect you. He won't let a pup do his job. I gotta say I like his style."

"Arcanine I contracted with the Nightwalker Clan to be partners. It won't affect you as you and I will still be together. I need them to help me just like I need you. Benji is it possible to have Arcanine be an honorary member of the clan?" Arcanine let out a lot of roars and a few growls when I finished what I had to say. He didn't seem too happy about it though.

"The best I can do is let him meet the patriarch and see what his decision is."

"That's enough for me can you ask him when you go back?"

"I will."

We had reached the compound when Benji and Arcanine both looked behind us. They looked at each other and came to an agreement of some sort. Arcanine dashed into the forest behind me and I looked to Benji for answers.

"There seems to be some shinobi in the forest who's scents don't match up with the ones Arcanine knows. He went to go investigate and said that you should get help. Arcanine told me that this place is your home so I've completed what I needed to do. Would you like me to stay and help?"

"It's fine you can go back. I'm going to follow Arcanine and thanks once again for all of your help." With that Benji disappeared in a puff of smoke. I ran into the forest and let out my second pokemon for this. "Gengar I need you to find Arcanine and capture the intruders if necessary."

Gengar sunk into the ground and disappeared. Arcanine had left a trail on the trees for me to follow and the occasional spinarak would also show me the way. It didn't take long for me to catch up as Arcanine was already in a fight. I hid in the shadows of a bush and let out the next two pokemon to fight. I had Lava and Ivysaur come out. I had Lava dig holes to lure the trespassers into and I wanted Ivy to make sure that they got to it. The two then moved away from me as Gengar now showed up next to me with two sacks. He left them next to me as I went to open the first one. Inside was a Hyuga girl so I opened the second one to see a smaller version of the first bag. I looked at their foreheads but didn't see the curse mark from their clan. I guess these two would be Hinata and Hanabi, the daughters of The Hyuga Clan Head. They were both unconscious as I looked at the shinobi that were fighting my pokemon. They were losing in a one sided affair right now as they couldn't tell what was going on.

It didn't take long before the two were thrown into a hole. I walked over to find out who they were since I was sure that this incident was going to be big. From what I know this was supposed to happen a few years ago during a treaty signing. I never heard anything about that so I just assumed everything went as normal for it. Inside the hole in the ground I could hear the sounds growing faint as Ivysaur was above them releasing his sleep powder. I took a look inside and recognized the two as Hidden Cloud Village shinobi. In the first hole was Darui and the second was Samui. I can tell that this incident is a little different by the fact that they sent two people but why didn't they send one of their stronger shinobi for this? I went back to the two girls and had Arcanine bring them to the compound. The last thing I need is for them to become a liability if there is a fight here. Arcanine sped off through the forest disappearing in a second.

I went back over to the hole wondering what I'm going to do with these two. I told Ivysaur to prepare some paralyzing powder to make sure they can't move when I wake them up. They'll still be able to talk since I've tested this with Tsunade before. Shizune and Tsunade spent a lot of time researching the medical effects of Ivysaur's powders in the past two years. It helps when the rift can give them a lot more time to do it. Once I made my preparations I started dropping rocks on them from above. I didn't want to hurt them so I didn't throw them down at them.

I decided to wake up Darui first since I felt like he'd be more likely to want to talk. It took eight rocks before he woke up. Ivysaur then dispersed its powder and he was paralyzed at the bottom of the hole facing up. I poked my head over the side and said hello.

"Hey I kind of fell into your hole. Do you mind helping me out?" Darui asked in a laid back manner.

"Nope."

"Then can you toss me a rope to help me get out of here? I'm a bit lost."

"If you answer my questions I'd think about it."

"Sure. I'll answer whatever you want if you can help me out of here." He said in obvious mockery of me.

"Why are you trying to start a war?"

"You sure get straight to the point."

"Doesn't answer the question. Lava you can start filling the hole." Lava looked at me with a grin and started to claw the dirt back into the hole. "You're blonde teammate was already given a chance but she didn't talk either so I buried her. If you don't answer then I will do the same to you. I'll then have the adults dig up the holes when they get here and let them do whatever they want."

I had Lava take his time in filling the hole. Just to make sure that my words had a bigger impact to him I sprinkled some of the hair I had cut off of Samui so they'd fall down in front of him. His eyes widen after seeing a clump of blond hair fall on him.

"What did you do to her." He screamed from the bottom of the hole. The rage in his voice could be felt.

"I did the same thing to her as I'm doing to you. If you don't answer my questions in time I don't know if she'll last under all of that dirt. Anyways you should think about answering if you want to leave here alive." Darui showed no signs of calming down so I told Lava to continue tossing the dirt back in. Occasionally he'd eat some while tossing the rocks back in. At one point he chucked a rock straight at Darui when he wouldn't stop yelling. I got to say his personality is great when it's not directed at me.

"Stop, stop. I'll talk." Darui finally caved once the dirt reached his neck. He was still paralyzed since Ivysaur released spores occasionally to incapacitate the two. Samui was was still tied up in the next hole but I didn't want her interrupting me.

"Then answer my question. Do you intend to start a war between our villages."

"I'm just following orders."

"Then you are aware of the possibility of failing those orders and starting a war." Darui stayed silent to my comment. I was right and he knew it so he didn't bother to confirm it.

"Darui, I know who both of you are and I know where you're from." His eyes widen since he didn't expect his name to be said. "Samui already told me everything I wanted to hear which is why she is now talking to the hokage about her defection from the Hidden Cloud Village. She's an excellent kunoichi."

"That's impossible. She'd never betray our village."

"Are you sure? Do you really know your comrades? How would I know your name if she didn't tell it to me?" This was kind of fun to be honest. I already knew what they were here for but I might as well have some fun before I let them go. I don't want to start a war between the two villages. Darui looked to finally be caving in since he didn't even realize that my words contradict each other.

"What do you want?" He finally let out.

"Tell me what's worse for you. A failure without getting caught, a failure where you were noticed or a failure when you are captured?"

"Being captured would be the worst."

"I thought that was the case. How about we pretend that this never happened tonight. You go home without the leaf knowing about any of this and you owe me a favor."

"What about Samui?"

"Even now you still want to know what a traitor is doing?" He once again didn't respond. I talked instead and we reached an agreement. I knocked him out again and had Gengar leave him in a forest a few miles from here outside of Konoha. The rest is up to him. I then went over to the next hole to start the same thing with Samui. I introduced myself just like I did with Darui. She remained quiet. I repeated the same process and got similar answers. She refused everything I offered as she'd rather die in that hole than betray her village. You have to commend her spirit.

"Just to let you know Samui. Right now it has been a over a day since I let Darui go. He's been led to believe that you've already defected selling out the village and its secrets. If you want to leave now and stop him I can help you but it's going to cost you."

"What do you want." So she's finally ready to talk.

"Pretty simple I just want to make sure that war doesn't break out. You can help me stop it and no one has to know you were here. Then all you have to do is owe me a favor since that's all I want."

"How can I trust you?"

"Do you want to die here known as a traitor in your own village? If not I think that's enough" Samui's silence lasted for a few minutes while she weighed her options.

"Fine… I'll take your offer." I gave her my assurance and I had her put to sleep as well. Ivysaur did his thing and I had Gengar drop her off with Darui. I also left a note with the two so when they went back they'd remember that they owe me one. I knew in the future I would have to be able to talk with the other villages so it was nice to already have made a connection. Back in the compound I found the two Hyuga girls sleeping on the couch. I found a seat on a couch opposite them. How am I supposed to explain this to Tsunade and Shizune? That isn't even my biggest problem here. How am I going to explain to the Hyuga's that I have the daughters of the main branch sleeping here. This is going to be miserable. Their clan is just as stubborn as the Uchiha. I guess my best way out of this is to have Tsunade deal with it.

The door opened breaking me out of my thoughts. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Tsunade, Shizune and Konan entered the room with faces showing their exhaustion. I looked their way and then back to the sleeping girls. Their eyes followed mine and then landed back on me.

"I'm home" I said with a smile hoping that Tsunade wouldn't be too upset with me after today.


	17. Chapter 17: What should I do?

Surprisingly Konan was the first one who had approached me. She picked me up in a hug while also making sure I was alright. She's never been like this with me before. Once she realized what she was doing she put me down and her calm and collected expression returned. She returned to Tsunade's side. She just sighed at the whole thing. Shizune was the one to break the ice by asking about the girls. We spent the next bit getting caught up on each other's day. They all congratulated me on making a contract but Tsunade said I wasn't going to get out of this so easily.

"Tobi do you know about a masked man with an eye hole on one side of his face?" She probably assumed that I knew who had attacked them tonight. Judging by their description it was Obito but I don't want to say that yet. If I change his plans too much then what I know is useless in the future. I still need him to form The Akatsuki and gather the members before I change any of his plans. If we stop him here now then Madara will just find a contingency plan that I will have no idea about. I stared at Konan for a bit before I looked back at Tsunade. I didn't want to speak about this but I knew she was going to pester me for an answer. My head slowly moved up and down in affirmation of her question.

"Who is he? Why did he attack us and what does he plan to do." She wanted to know everything about him.

"I'm not going to answer that. I will tell you he is the one who killed the fourth hokage before we changed that."

"It's as we thought then. Tobi even without telling us you have a horrible habit of giving up information. In the future I will help you get rid of that habit but for now it works in my favor. I will ask again who is he?" She was right my words are easy to read into. I don't hide it well but this time I won't say anything. Tsunade walked over to me and grabbed me by the collar. "Tobi I'm not going to ask again. Tell me who he is."

"Can we take care of something else first? We still have guests here. I'd rather they not wake up right now before we can return them to their home." If I didn't want to give anything away right now I needed her to be distracted. She released her grip on me and looked at the two sleeping Hyuugas.

"Let's go drop them off. I'll take care of the talking so just don't say anything." The three of us nodded as Shizune and Konan each picked up one of the girls. We walked over to the Hyuga Estate but were stopped quite a distance away. A few Hyuga clansmen approached us when we were getting close. They didn't draw their weapons right away but they were prepared for battle. Once Tsunade glared at them a bit they relaxed and showed the proper respect she has earned.

"My apologies Lady Tsunade for my rudeness. We are currently looking for two members of our clan who were taken."

"I figured that was the case since I have them right here." She waved her hands over to show Shizune and Konan holding the two girls. "Is Hiashi around I'd like to speak to him about why I'm here with his daughters."

"Yes please follow us. You two take the young ladies to their room." The clansmen had pointed to two of the people behind him. "If you will let's go."

We were in a meeting room with Hiashi Hyuga in a few minutes. He had an imposing manner and the pupil less eyes didn't help much in being able to read his emotions. Hiashi and Tsunade talked about the events that happened during the meeting earlier. Once they finished discussing that they moved on to their pleasantries. They flattered back and forth for a bit. This kind of talking is always boring to me so I started to not pay attention to the conversation. I felt a sharp pain in my side as Shizune pinched me. I looked at her and her face showed how angry she was. It was probably easily noticed by Hiashi but he didn't comment on it.

"How did you end up with my daughters?" Hiashi asked in a neutral tone. He didn't blame us but he wasn't going to say we were innocent.

"Tobi, my nephew next to me, was training in the forest behind our home. He saw two ninjas traveling through our territory without our permission. He sent for the guards but tailed them. While they were distracted by a guard he took the two bags they had dropped bringing them back to our home. Once inside he opened them finding your children. Our guard wasn't strong enough to capture them so they managed to get away but he couldn't identify their origin." I'm glad that she's the one lying. I'd be caught before I finished the first sentence. Hiashi looked at me and then looked back at Tsunade.

"You have my thanks. The Hyuga will remember this and will return this favor in the future. Your nephew showed incredible bravery in what he did." Hiashi said his thanks after that and we left. We didn't have anything else to stick around for.

"Tobi you didn't seem to shocked by all of this. Is this something you expected?"

"Yeah I just assumed I wasn't told about it and it already happened."

"When was it supposed to happen?"

"Two to three years ago? It would be something that would bring a lot of regret to the Hyugas and the village. That's the reason I spared the shinobi they sent and instead requested a favor. I'm sure they'll be surprised when they wake up and read my note." I then told the three what happened in a different life. I told them about the curse mark and about their sacrifice of his brother to them. I don't understand how they expected their abduction to work in the first place. Were they expecting their shinobi to die for an exchange? If I had to guess the two who tried this time probably had a strong jonin waiting for them outside of the village in case of needing a quick escape. I don't know who would fit that bill right now but I'm glad they didn't show up when I was having my fun earlier. It was then a couple of prompts appeared in front of me.

[Trick Samui into giving you a favor. Reward: Increased reputation with women in the Hidden Cloud Village]

[Trick Darui into giving you a favor. Reward: Increased reputation with men in the Hidden Cloud Village]

[Rescue the hostages. Reward: Political marriage request from Hiashi.]

Hold on a second. What the hell is that last reward? Also why is it a reward? It sounds more like a problem than a reward. I would have saved the two of them anyways. There isn't a reason to give me a reward like this. Forget about that reward I was curious what kind of reputation I'd have in the Hidden Cloud Village if I ever went there. Thinking about what's ahead in the future this could come in handy if it's not too bad. The village was still a bit rowdy from the meeting earlier. We could see the heavy presences of the village's shinobi patrolling about. It was easy to tell that a lot of people were uneasy right now.

We got back to the compound without any issues. Now that there was no longer any distractions Tsunade sat me down. I knew at this point something was going to happen that would change things for us. I was determined not to answer her. I knew she wasn't going to back down from someone who attacked the village. So I resolved myself that I wouldn't break this time. I've gotten better than before but now it was time for me to make sure I didn't break under pressure. Konan and Shizune both took places off to the side. Tsunade started the same conversation that we had earlier. "Is the reason you're not telling us who this is because you want to protect them?"

"No. That's not the reason why. I'm not answering you because I don't want to. You're all better off not knowing anything right now. If I say it right now then the situation will change much more than if he remains a mystery. If I say who it is then it might accelerate his plans and we won't stand a chance with the way things are."

"Do you honestly think that is going to work? Do you think telling us to sit on our hands and wait is going to work?" I sat there taking Tsunade's questions. I wasn't going to answer them no matter what. I knew if we stopped Obito here then Madara will find another way. There isn't anyone alive right now who could stop what happens after Madara. Sure Tsunade and Jiraiya are equal to if not stronger than the versions from there while both of the hokages are still alive. Those four won't be enough to stop this war let alone win it. The other villages are all still in chaos and will never unite to stop him. My silence wasn't taken well by the three in the room. Konan and Shizune remained silent but I could see the look on their faces change a little as I sat there. It was then I noticed Tsunade's change. She was done playing around as her expression changed.

"I'll ask one more time Tobi. Who is he?" I once again remained silent. I was resolved this time no matter what to not talk. Tsunade looked down at me in disappointment.

"I'm not going to tell you. I already said that. There will come a day where I will tell you everything you want to know and more. I can't do that right now since I've already done too much."

She did something no one in the room expected and she slapped me with the back of her hand. I don't know why she did that but the other two in the room were in shock. I'm not going to say I was in a much better shape. My hand found my way to my cheeks rubbing the part where she had hit me. I stared at her and she stared back. We held eye contact for a bit before she turned away.

"Go to your room Tobi. I don't want to see you again tonight." She said in a low voice. If it wasn't so silent in the room I might not have heard her. I stood up with tears about to come pouring out of me.

"Wait a minute." Konan ended her silence behind Tsunade. "I think I might have met him before."

"What are you talking about Konan?" Asked Tsunade.

"Back when I was with Nagato and Yahiko we once met a masked man similar to the one who we saw tonight." Her words pierced through me. I still didn't know anything about her background or how it has changed. If she's already met Obito then there is a chance she is already working for him unintentionally.

"Is that true?" Tsunade spoke as it seemed like everything was normal.

"Yes. The mask is different but the atmosphere was the same now that I think about it."

Why was she here? Why is she pretending to be our family? At that moment I had snapped. I formed a few hand signs and used the same wood style jutsu I had used when I was falling from the sky. A sharp edged log emerged through the floor below Konan. She dispersed as paper once the floor was broken.

"Tobi what are you doing?" Tsunade shouted at me. The feelings from being slapped were drowned in the rage I was feeling. I wanted to continue this and show her true colors to my family. I formed a few more seals instead of answering her. I used the water style: water bullet technique. A stream of water exploded out of my mouth which soaked the room and hopefully the paper Konan had turned into. Shizune had navigated her way behind me in this time. I didn't have a chance to react as she chopped at my neck. My vision went black as I fell to the ground.

"That was pretty impressive. I've never seen him like that before." Konan said as she reassembled herself. The paper she had dispersed to gathered bit by bit. "There wasn't any hesitation in him and he even went for the sneak attack. When it failed he then tried to weigh down my paper with that water jutsu. Not to mention the power behind those was a lot more than he usually uses."

She moved next to the log that had been grown in the living room. Placing her hand on the wood in front of her she spoke again. "It also confirms my suspicions that that man was a problem even back then. Tobi wouldn't have attacked me if they weren't the same person. At least I don't think he would. "

"I think you might be right about his behavior. Can you tell us more about the man you met?" Tsunade said as she looked at the unconscious child in Shizune's arms.

"Yeah. He appeared before us claiming he was Madara Uchiha."

"What did you say?" Tsunade's face showed her shock.

"I think it might be possible that he was telling us the truth."

"How can he still be alive?" Nobody had an answer for her and silence filled the room.

"I'm going to bring Tobi back to his room. I feel bad for doing that to him so I'm going to make sure he's okay. I think it's best for you two to talk without me for a bit." She said as she recused herself. The two remaining in the room looked at each other.

"Let's go talk in my office for a bit. There's something I haven't told you in detail yet." Once inside Tsunade's office the two sat down. She pulled out the book she had written all of Tobi's words in since she started this. Both of them knew what was in the book so there was no reason to read it. Tsunade then took a scroll out of the desk and used a summoning jutsu to get another scroll. She then copied the scroll into the book handing it over to Konan.

"This is what I left out of the book until now because I didn't want you to know the details of it. He was vague about it but you might have a better idea of what he was hiding." Konan took the book in her hands and read Tsunade's new entry. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Does this mean that they were still alive?"

"It's possible. I think we might have to investigate and see what we can find. I know we received a report of them being killed in the war there but I don't know if we can believe that now."

"There was once a time where I thought I could follow their dreams to the end. I guess the other me managed to do that." Konan had a small stream of tears falling down. Tsunade got up from her chair. She casually walked next to Konan and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll get him to talk with or without his consent. This information is too dangerous to keep hidden. At that time I'll find out your story as well so we can finally put whatever this is behind us. I'm not going to tolerate anymore of this. It's time for us to find out about everything he's hiding."

Darui woke up in the middle of a forest. He could remember the kid he made a deal with but he couldn't remember how he got here. Slowly standing up he got his senses back. To his right was an unconscious blonde woman. She was just beginning to wake up as well.

"What are you doing here? Didn't you make a deal with the leaf?" He spoke to Samui as she had sat up.

"What are you talking about. I had to make a deal with him just to make sure you didn't tell the village I was traitor." She said as she patted down her clothes removing the dirt.

"I guess either way this mission is a failure." Darui spoke his thoughts out loud. They knew that if they went back they couldn't succeed so the only move left was to return to their village. Even with all of the commotion in the village tonight they were lucky to even grab the two girls. Darui and Samui decided to talk about what happened. They needed to get their story straight for when they went back to report.

"To start with we were both ambushed by that creature. The reddish orange one that came out of the forest. Any idea what that thing was?" Samui asked since she didn't have a clue about it.

"No idea. Whatever it was it was fast and it knew where to attack us."

"Yeah that's why we dropped the bags to increase our mobility. Then they sunk into that tree's shadow so it was a planned attack."

"Yeah. Do you think that it was the kid who planned that? We couldn't have been outdone by a kid right?" He asked not wanting to believe that they were tortured by a child. He barely knew how he ended up in that hole either. One second he was fine and then the next something grabbed his leg causing him to slip. He thought he'd be slammed against the ground but the ground disappeared. The hole they were thrown in was deep and it'd be hard to get out without using chakra.

"Hmm. I guess that kid left us a note." Samui grabbed a scroll that was left in front of them. She unrolled it and her expression changed once she finished. She handed it over to Darui who had a similar expression by the end of it. "Let's not mention any of this."

"Agreed."

He tucked the scroll away into his pocket as the two proceeded out of the forest. There they met a few different shinobi from their village. After reporting their failure they left to go back home. Their report didn't contain any trace of them meeting Tobi but they knew they owed him a favor.

A week later Tsunade held a meeting with the Yamanaka clan at the compound. They talked late into the night so I left a long time ago. They didn't make too much noise so I was able to sleep easily. What I didn't know however is that they were waiting for me to sleep. Tsunade had brought Inoichi over to ask him a favor. She wanted him to enter my mind to confirm her suspicions. Inoichi came prepared with what he needed and Tsunade set me up by lacing my food with sedatives.

Once they confirmed I was asleep they started what they wanted to do. Inoichi performed a few seals while Tsunade sat off to the side. When the seals were completed Inoichi reached out for my head. His clan specialized in information gathering as well as a few other unique aspects. He tried entering my unconscious mind to poke around looking for what Tsunade wanted. Inside Inoichi found himself traversing through plenty of surface memories. This wasn't what he was supposed to care about but he couldn't help himself from looking through them. His curiosity got the better of him as he saw dozens of different days in minutes. Precious memories of Tobi with his family, his friends in the academy and training in the compound. He then saw the first meeting between Tobi and his daughter at their shop. He had accidentally knocked into Ino when he was turning around.

His daughter had been misbehaving in the store while he was browsing the different flowers on display. Although it wasn't Tobi's fault he still apologized and helped his daughter. He then asked which kind was her favorite flower in the shop. He didn't spend much time there but it seemed like he had left an impression on his daughter. He ended up buying a lot of different types of flowers and plants that day including the one Ino said was her favorite. Once he finished watching this memory he left.

He went deeper into Tobi's mind exploring and becoming more curious as he went. Tobi's mind was a lot more developed than it should be without training for it. Although there weren't any traps prepared there were a lot more natural defenses than he expected. He eventually found a door in front of him. Without hesitation he opened that door and entered inside. He found himself in an office Tobi would recognize. Looking around Inoichi noticed a few items he didn't know. He probed the office for as much information as he could get. Reading documents off the table, grabbing books and flipping through them from the shelves. He spent a lot of time in that office going through what he could find.

"Have you had your fill yet?" He heard a feminine voice from behind him. He looked around and didn't see anyone. He moved around cautiously trying to locate the voice he heard.

"I'm talking to you. Its polite to answer when you're rummaging through someone else's property."

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Oh I finally have your attention I see." Once more the voice came from behind him. The thing was that there was only a bookcase behind him so he moved forward a bit before looking. No one was there.

"For someone who specializes in entering someone else's consciousness you sure are slow to react." The voice was playing around with him at this point. This was a first for him. He'd never encountered someone else inside someone's mind before. Sure he's seen seals that held a guardian before or the remnants of someone's chakra. There were a lot of strange ways to protect someone's mind.

"Do you know anything about a man in a mask who attacked the meeting the other night." Inoichi didn't hope for much when he asked.

"Oh I know all about him and so does little Tobi. He's already told you no so you wanted to sneak in here to find out anyways. I think you and Tsunade deserve a little punishment. You see Tobi here is my toy. He's already signed over his soul to me so right now you've entered my property without my consent."

"You've taken his soul?"

"Yes that's what I said. Now is that all because I need to make sure that the two of you realize that you've done something that you shouldn't have." A woman materialized on the chair. She put her feet up on the desk while leaning back in the chair. She waited for Inoichi to notice her presence. When he did she snapped her fingers and Tsunade appeared next to him. She had no idea how she appeared here and Inoichi has never seen someone appear like this. An unknown force then threw the two into chairs on the other side of the desk. The woman just stared at the both of them not yet ready to break the silence.

"Are you the one Tobi told me about?" Asked Tsunade as she calmed down a bit from her unexpected situation.

"Yes that little boy is such a chatterbox." She said in a way that showed her disapproval. "He never knows when to shut up but I like him."

"I do as well which is why I want to know what you plan to do with him."

"Now, now. Don't get too excited. We both want the same thing so why should I let my property get hurt." Tsunade clenched her fists not letting her anger take over. The arrogance of the woman in front of her was unbearable but she held Tobi's soul in her hands. She couldn't do anything but endure for right now. Inoichi was trying to adjust to the situation. Tsunade told him that Tobi had seen the man who invaded the meeting the other day without his mask. She requested for him to dive in while he was sleeping to see if that was the case. For him this unexpected situation wasn't good.

"First let's take your worries away. That masked man will stay quiet for the next eight years or so which is why Tobi didn't want to say anything. He's already delayed his actions from tonight since he lost his information source when you found out about Danzo. Don't bother asking about him anymore. He will be Tobi's problem in the future. I chose to place him here because of the war that is coming. I don't need you to solve his problems since it won't allow him to grow." Tsunade slammed her fist on the table. Her anger had gone past the point of no return.

"He's just a child how can you throw him into a war."

"He's been preparing for it ever since he was born. Why do you think he's so insistent on getting stronger." Inoichi's face turned to shock not from the fact that a war was coming but from the fact that Tsunade already knew. "That boy wants to protect his home and his family."

"You sound like you know the outcome is already set." Asked Inoichi

"For the most part it is. This world has already adapted to the changes I put in so I have an idea of what happens in the future."

"Then what happens if we find out who that man is tonight?" The woman smiled snapping her fingers. The scenery changed as the three were now standing overlooking Konoha. The village was on fire with signs of destruction all over the place. The Great Stone Faces on the cliff were either broken or shattered. On the roofs of the houses below numerous dead bodies could be seen. The village was in chaos.

"This is? No it can't be..." Inoichi was the first to speak up. He looked at the village below in horror as he saw his home was already destroyed.

"This is the answer to your question. This is what happens when you found out who he was. This is only a year from now." In the distance the nine tails as well as the one tails could be seen rampaging over the destroyed village. The longer they watched the more the destruction spread. They could hear the cries of the villagers being slaughtered below them. The three stood in silence watching a bit longer.

"That's enough you don't need to show us anymore." Tsunade finally spoke up. Tears were starting to form in her eyes. It was only a vision of the future but it still struck her core. Inoichi was on the verge of tears as well. The goddess snapped her fingers and they returned to the office once more. She once more put her feet on the desk in a relaxed manner.

"Now that should solve your problems. I'd appreciate it if you don't go anywhere you're not supposed to. Tobi will show you what he wants you to see when the time is right. Trust him since he's put all of his faith in you. As for you Inoichi if you don't want anything bad to happen I'd suggest you tie your fate to the princess here. You never know what good things might happen if you do."

"What's with the sudden change in attitude?" Asked Tsunade as she was having trouble figuring out what this woman wanted.

"Didn't he ever tell you I'm a Goddess of Mischief. I do things I find entertaining and I think it'd be entertaining to do this. Nothing more nothing less."

"What will it take to free him from you?"

"Oh that's a bold question. Do you know what happens to him if I release him from his contract?" She said with a twisted smile. The two stayed silent waiting for her answer "If I release him from my bond then his soul will be sucked back into the hands of a god of reincarnation. He will be put back into the world I originally took him from and go back to being a normal soul there. My bond is his protection. His life is bound to me. In simple terms if we make this deal you are essentially killing the person you wish to protect. If you wish to proceed we can." Tsunade glared at the woman. She was ready for a fight but couldn't estimate the opponent in front of her. So she decided to keep it civilized for now.

"Are you going to take my boy away from me?" Her voice held her uncertainty. The goddess put her feet on the ground and sat upright in the chair. The change in her expression showed that she wasn't joking around anymore.

"I'm not going to. I told him when he made his deal I won't interfere in his life unless I need him for something. I may like messing around with things but I won't go back on my word. I've peeked into his future a few times and I have to say he does surprise me. Don't worry Inoichi your daughter was alive and well unlike what you saw earlier. I know that you care about your family more than anything so I'll tell you a little about her future. Your daughter will be stuck at a crossroad. She will meet someone similar to her one day in a place full of herbs and flowers. The person she meets will have a few options before her when it comes to love. Your daughter can help her choose her correct path, lead her to happiness or get her what she wants. It's up to her to find the right path for both of them."

"I'll make sure to remember your words." Inoichi said. He didn't want to make this situation any worse than it was. Tsunade next to him looked ready to fight at any moment.

"Now what should I do? Should I reward you two for finding me here or punish you instead?" The goddess got up from her chair and grabbed both of their hands. The two looked at their hands as a seal mark was engraved on the back. It was something neither of the two have seen before.

"Those seals will disappear in two years time which is the first time I will be calling for him. Until then they will restrict you both from talking about me while also protecting your mind from others. It will also restrict Inoichi from talking about some of the things he saw in Tobi's memories. He can only talk about them when the two of you will not be overheard. I don't want anyone else to know about my existence."

"Is this all a game to you?" asked Tsunade.

"I wouldn't call it a game. I'd call it entertainment."

"That's even worse. Toying with people like this? Some god you are." The goddess sighed.

"I guess we're going to have to get on the same page before I send you home." The two sitting in front of the goddess looked confused. "Before Tsunade loses her temper here let's take a trip. I'm sure Tobi would be upset with me showing this to you but I think he'll get over it if it causes you two to make up."


	18. Chapter 18: Talk with the Goddess

The woman then snapped her fingers again. They were transported to a funeral where hundreds of people were attending. Inoichi could see the teenage version of his daughter with Shikaku and Choza's sons. Tsunade saw those who were missing from that scene. Everyone she was close to was absent except for Shizune. The Senju Guards, her children and even her friends weren't there.

"I guess its true about Jiraiya." She managed to mutter but she soon heard a voice from behind her.

"Yes of course he wouldn't be at this scene. This is the end that Tobi was trying to prevent. This is only a fraction of those who will die in that war. Inoichi you should look closely at the names on those stones in front of your child." They both immediately looked down. Inoichi had a feeling he'd know the names written there but he didn't want to see it. On the first stone Shikaku Nara was written. He had gotten over numerous deaths in the previous war but to see his name hurt. Then the second one was his own. He once more looked at his daughter's face seeing the tears in her eyes.

"Is there anyway to." His voice trailed off before he could finish.

"Of course there is. This is just one of many possibilities that could happen. Why do you think I'm so interested in what little Tobi will do?"

"Then how do we prevent something like this?"

"Tsunade here has been looking into the things that Tobi has let slip. She's been very observant in what he does let slip but even then he still manages to keep some secrets. Don't probe into those because no one is ready to deal with them at this point."

"I told him I'd protect him. I'm not going to let him take on a burden like that alone."

"I guess you won't understand unless someone tells you point blank. You're abilities are amazing but your reasoning could use some work."

"Stop Tsunade" Inoichi yelled as Tsunade attacked the goddess. His shout was ineffective as Tsunade had gone right through the woman who was standing behind them.

"What? How?" She asked

"Do you really think that would actually do something to me? Here of all places?" The goddess laughed enjoying the situation.

"I won't know if I don't try." Tsunade once again tried to hit the goddess with another punch.

"Tsunade, stop before it gets any worse. She can freely manipulate what she wants here. We can't do anything to her right now." Inoichi didn't want to anger the person before him. He's seen the difference between them in this space.

"Finally someone with some brains." She teased.

"Why are you doing this to us?" Tsunade asked. The goddess face changed from one of amusement to being serious.

"Because you don't understand." She sighed then spoke again. "Tobi's gone out of his way to try and protect you from harm. He values you and your clan. He wants to live up to your expectation while also fulfilling his own ambitions. Even just now you once again misunderstood his intention."

"What do you mean?" The goddess smiled knowing she had caught her interest.

"What he knows and what is happening will be two different things. Some have already been erased, changed or in some other cases will involve different people. He wants to protect you from threats that he knows. Some threats are powerful beyond your imagination. There are others like the one you currently have one living in your home."

"We're different people from what he knows. I don't know what that Konan did but I know the one with me right now isn't like that. My daughter wouldn't be an enemy to our village." Tsunade spoke with a confident voice. Inoichi next to her decided to stay silent. The goddess let out an amused laugh.

"I agree with you. This is why I've been enjoying this so much. I never expected that she would have ended up in the leaf village. I guess some ripples extended much further out than I expected. I also know what you're planning in regards to their relationship." Tsunade flinched. "I also approve of that so I won't interfere. If anything I might just help you out when the time comes."

"Then why is he so adamant about keeping his guard up against her?" The goddess snapped her fingers and the scene changed once more. The group of three stood in the center of this grey walled room filled with pipes leading in all directions. There were two people looking at each other behind each side. Behind the goddess was Konan wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it. She was floating there with half of her body materialized and the other half had been turned into the paper Tsunade was familiar with. Tsunade and Inoichi could tell that this would be in the future by seeing how much older this Konan was.

"I'm sure you can see the one floating behind me. This is why Tobi has kept his guard up against her. He wants to prevent this from happening." Tsunade was about to speak when she heard a voice from behind her. A voice she was all to familiar with.

"I dangled the lure in drawing out this Pain fellow but I'd never imagined that I'd catch you." Tsunade turned around to see Jiraiya standing there. The white haired man smiled. "You've honed your jutsu magnificently but even more you've become quite a catch, Konan."

Tsunade turned back to look behind the goddess but she moved to the side.

"I think it's best to watch this without me getting in the way." She giggled before she disappeared.

"Wait. What's going on?" Tsunade asked to empty space.

"Tsunade what exactly is going on here? Why is your daughter fighting Jiraiya in a place like this?" He was even more confused at this situation than she was.

"Damn it." She cursed looking at the floating Konan who had a deadpan expression. Her face showed little trace of anything resembling how her daughter acted. At that moment the Jiraiya next to them spoke.

"It was my understanding that all of you had died but I never would have guessed you turned into sheets of paper." Once again her expression didn't change. The man on the ground before Jiraiya spoke about a lady angel before asking Konan to kill the intruder and running off.

"Are they here to fight?" Inoichi asked Tsunade not believing what he was seeing.

"I'm afraid that they are." Tsunade clenched her fists. It was then that the floating Konan spoke her first words.

"Leave now and Stay away."

Jiraiya then asked more about this man named Pain. Konan responded while floating further into the forming a pair of angel like wings with her paper.

"It's really none of your business Sensei." She spoke in a monotone voice. Jiraiya then started a back and forth conversation with her. The two didn't let the other out of their sights. The two spectators knew they were about to watch a fight to the death between the two.

"I've received my orders from god." This started their fight. The two could only watch on as Jiraiya countered Konan's attack. He grasped her with his hair and started another conversation. The more those two talked the more it was tearing her heart apart. She loved her daughter and Jiraiya had a special place in her life. She didn't want to see this. Listening to their conversation brought her to the verge of tears. How could it come to this? She thought back to the day Jiraiya had returned to the village with her. She was all alone since the other two had abandoned her in a village that they had fought in. If it wasn't for Jiraiya traveling through that area at the time he would have never known. The bright cheerful little girl he had taught had been broken by war. The life in her eyes was gone. Nagato and Yahiko who had trained together with her had abandoned her there continuing their fight.

Jiraiya had brought her to live with Tsunade since she had a family now. It didn't take long for a bond to be formed between the two. Tsunade's life had already been turned upside down by her pregnancy and Tobi's coma. It was nice to have an extra pair of hands as Shizune was burdened with most of Tsunade's responsibilities at that time. At first the expression on her face was worse than the Konan in front of Tsunade. She had given up on the world they lived in. She didn't do much for herself and didn't care for others. The one in front of her had a conviction although from what she heard of the conversation it was misguided.

Tsunade looked upon the one in front of her wondering what happened to cause this. If it wasn't for Jiraiya visiting so often she would have never opened up from her shell. He was like a father to her now. His place in her heart was more than a teacher. She felt a hand on her shoulder so she looked to see Inoichi.

"Look over there." She turned to see an orange haired man who had entered the conversation. The first thing both noticed was the purple eyes with black circles in them. She recognized those as the eyes of the boy Nagato. She immediately looked for the other boy Yahiko but he wasn't there. The two listened into the conversation once more between Jiraiya. It looked like Konan was going to stay out and let the two of them fight. At this point Tsunade heard a voice from behind her.

"Let's skip this part." She snapped her fingers once more and the fight which had started disappeared. "This is what Tobi was talking about earlier. He never wanted you to see this."

The scene changed to a wide open area with a few footholds on the water's surface. On one of those footholds was Jiraiya covered in blood with five black rods sticking out of him. He was struggling to move with an old toad on his shoulder screaming for him to get up. The goddess appeared next to the two watching who were watching Jiraiya's last moments.

"What are you going to do now? I've shown this to you without his consent."

"Why did you show this to us?" Asked Inoichi.

"The simplest terms is because I felt like it. After watching him all this time I have an idea of what he's thinking so I thought I'd help out. Tsunade hasn't apologized yet so her and Tobi's relationship is a little strained right now. Thought this might help them out a bit. He's been so miserable to watch recently. He hasn't done anything interesting all week." Tsunade had a vexed expression on her face. The goddess's words were right. She had regret what she did to Tobi that night but she had trouble admitting it. Inoichi decided not to step into someone else's family problems. She snapped her fingers again and the three were back in the office.

"I know you're only showing me a part of this. There is more to the story than just this, right?"

"Of course he already told you that didn't he."

"Yes. Is it possible to see that?"

"Not from me"

"What's stopping you from doing it this time compared to earlier?"

"He'll tell you about it when he's ready. You already know that Konan will be killed so why should it matter how it happened."

"What will it take for you to show me? I'm willing to negotiate. I know that you've done it with Tobi before."

"You have nothing I want so there isn't a reason to make a deal. I needed someone and his idea was interesting so I tried it. Turns out it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be."

"Can I at least know the reason that he refuses to speak about some things?" The goddess started tapping her finger on the desk.

"Let's see. I think this might work. Okay, I can answer that for you." The goddess was thinking out loud which caused Tsunade to look at her with a confused expression. "He's thinking about the bigger picture of what happens next."

"What do you mean next?"

"I'll leave it at that. I think Inoichi already has an idea with that look. Now go and let me enjoy this show longer." She pushed her hand out and the two were ejected from inside of Tobi's mind. The two slowly left Tobi's room without making a sound once they had regained themselves in the real world. Tsunade led the Yamanaka clan member to her office where they sat down. They both got a weird sense of sitting in another office.

"Tsunade, forgive me for asking but was that really a god?"

"It's what she claims. I'm sorry for dragging you into my family's problems."

"It's not that big of a deal if I'm the only one involved. I'd be troubled if my family was."

"I owe you a lot Inoichi. I promise to make it up to you in the future."

"I guess my family will be tied to yours soon." He joked. "Honestly I'm fine without anything."

"Before you go can I ask you to write down everything you remember and saw?"

"I don't mind." He looked at the back of his hand where the seal was. "Do you think I'll be able to?"

"It's worth a try." The two were able to write down what had occurred but what shocked them was the contents blurred as soon as Shizune had walked into the room. She was curious about what happened earlier so it wasn't unexpected of her to look for them in her office. It didn't take long before Konan came for the same reason.

"How'd it go?" Asked Shizune as soon as everyone found a spot in Tsunade's office.

"We didn't get what we wanted." Inoichi answered for Tsunade. "There wasn't any information about the masked man. I just saw some of Tobi's memories with none of them relating to before his time in this village."

"Is there anything we can use?"

"No there isn't. We will also never discuss this topic again." Tsunade gave her orders surprising the two.

Konan tried to talk but was interrupted by Tsunade. "I mean it. Tonight is to never be discussed again. Inoichi I thank you for your help."

"Thank you Lady Tsunade. I'll take my leave." With that he left before he could get involved with their family meeting.

"What happens now?" Asked Shizune not sure how to take Tsunade's change in her approach to this.

"Nothing. We're not going to do anything about him for now."

"What?"

"We'll wait until Tobi is ready to tell us about him."

"Then is that guy really?" asked Konan.

"I don't know if he is or isn't."

"Did Inoichi see anything in there that could tell us anything else that Tobi knows?"

"No he didn't. If anything I need to apologize to him for the other night."

"What happened in there. This isn't like you to just change your mind like this." Konan was starting to get annoyed with Tsunade's attitude. "Can you tell us anything that happened?"

Tsunade wasn't sure what she should do at this point. Could she talk about what she saw or would she be punished by the seal. What happens if she does try to talk about her meeting with the goddess. With that she started to speak.

"Inoichi helped me to see inside of Tobi. He guided me through his memories." She stopped and realized that she could talk a little about what happened inside. She just had to do it in a roundabout way. "What I saw in there wasn't much but I have something to think about."

"Something to think about?" asked Shizune.

"Yes. I'm wondering why Tobi is selective in the things he tells us. Before he would spill whatever we wanted him to say. Somewhere it changed where he would direct us to somethings. Until now he would always say something to us. Why is he not telling us anything now?"

"Isn't he afraid of you two being in danger? I'd include myself but I know he thinks I'm an enemy." Konan said in a teasing voice. She had calmed down once Tsunade had stopped trying to dismiss everything.

"I thought that was the case until I saw the memory of you he has from the future. I caught a glimpse of a headband of a hidden rain village shinobi."

"We know that there will be a fourth great shinobi war. Does that mean the Hidden Rain will be on the enemies side?" Shizune asked her thoughts out loud.

"It's possible but that wasn't what I wanted to say. They were Konan's subordinates."

"What? How is that possible?"

"There was also someone there who appeared with the same eyes as your friend."

"Impossible." At this point Konan was shocked.

"That wasn't the most impossible thing I saw though. I saw that you were…" Tsunade let out a scream of pain as the seal on her hand had started to grow throughout her arm. It shot up her arm and made a ring around her neck. The other two were shocked rushing over to her. The seal soon released itself. Tsunade calmed her breath while the other two were checking on her.

"What's going on?"

"I guess that was my limit." Tsunade looked at her hand before asking the two before her. "Is there anything on my hand?"

"No" The two replied in unison.

"I'm sorry to ask this of you two but I need some time to myself. Can you both please go for tonight? I have some things to think about before talking with Tobi tomorrow." Tsunade politely asked the two. They could tell she was serious so they left. Outside the two went to a different room to talk between themselves.


	19. Chapter 19: Training in the Plains

I woke up the next morning to another day wondering how to fix my relationship with Tsunade. I didn't want to tell her anything but I felt guilty not doing anything at all. Not saying anything made me feel like I was an accomplice to the attack on Minato and his family. I think because of how this week has gone I've felt even worse about it. The more I thought about it the more I couldn't pinpoint why I felt this way. Was it because I should have tried to prevent it? I no longer know how Obito's plan is going to go. Did I feel obligated to stop this attack? Should I have spent time and brainstormed about other plans he could have done. Was that why I was feeling guilty? Every time I thought about this my thoughts just ran in circles. In order to feel a little bit better about it I decided that in the end Minato and his family were alright. I should be happy about that.

Another problem that I was thinking about this week is why Obito let that information slip. Is removing Fugaku as head of the Uchiha Clan part of his plan? Maybe he's thinking that he could easily manipulate Itachi to do what he wants. Itachi may or may not have already met him but I don't know for sure. At this point Itachi should have already awakened his sharingan because of Obito killing his teammate. I don't know if it did happen the same way because this is the kind of thing that is hard for me to find out unless I ask Tsunade or Shizune. Also why would Obito expose Fugaku directly to the village. Is he still trying to get Madara's revenge on the clan? If he is then it gives me nothing to work with. I've already been working under that assumption. Without the ninetails attack like in the original story it will be hard to push them into a corner like that. Minato has treated every clan fairly from what I've seen. The Uchiha's condition right now was better than what it was in the story. Other than the failed attack for the nine tails I think the village was in much better shape than the original story.

I was playing with what little food was left in front of me while my thoughts continued. I was using this mess to distract me from my problems with Tsunade. Both of them were huge problems to me but one was easier to approach for me than the other. I realized that I needed time for both of them. For the Uchiha time needed to pass before I could assess whether I needed to do something for them or not. If I go in without knowing anything I might create a problem that doesn't exist. I needed time for Tsunade because I needed the courage to face her. I finished the last of my breakfast before noticing that the compound was relatively quiet. I looked up to see Tsunade entering the room so I quickly escaped to the training grounds. I still didn't know what to do so I decided to run from her. I got up from the table and dropped off my plate in the kitchen. I was out of the room before Tsunade could even say a word to me.

It wasn't like I was running away aimlessly. I wanted to go to the Endless Plains to learn from the Nightwalker Clan but getting away from here was my first priority. I was also eager to get my chakra under control. In the training ground I decided to summon Benji to tell me how to get to the endless plains. The wolf appeared right in front of me as the smoke settled around him. From behind me I could hear Koko's voice. I didn't even know she was here.

"This is your summoned beast?" I turned to see her already next to me.

"Yeah I'm want to go to the Endless Plains to train there today. I was asking Benji here how to get there from here."

"If that's what you want to do I won't stop you. But I should tell you that you really should make up with her. I don't know what happened but she was looking for you a couple of minutes ago." I looked at the ground. Koko was right but I wasn't sure what she wanted of me. Honestly I was scared of our relationship getting worse than it was right now.

"I want to but I'm scared." I said trying my best to put a smile on my face. "Benji is it possible for me to be summoned to the plains?"

Instead of answering me the wolf cancelled his summon turning into a puff of smoke. Koko ended up laughing at me as I had blank expression on my face. Before I could even make a retort to her my surroundings changed. I was in the cave that the Nightwalker Clan lived in.

"It's nice to see you again." Said the patriarch, Roku.

"Thank you for letting me come here." I said trying my best to show gratitude.

"Haruka can you go get your mother for me?" He called out to the white wolf from last time who wasn't that fond of me. She took one look at me filled with disdain before leaving for Roku's part of the cave.

"Did I happen to do anything that would upset her? Her expression is worse than the other day."

"Don't worry about her for now. She's just being a little rebellious right now. Also Benji told me that you have an interesting companion with you."

"Oh yeah I brought him with me today. Is it alright to let him out here?"

"Sure let's see what he's like." With that I let Arcanine out of his ball.

"Interesting. I can tell that he's stronger than a few of my children but his chakra capacity is small. Even a newborn pup would have more than he does." Arcanine let out a few roars in his defense. At least that's what I thought they would be.

"Is there any possibility that you could train him as well?" I asked hoping that it might be possible. Roku looked at him for a bit before answering me.

"If he's willing to work hard then I might make him an honorary member of the clan. I usually don't take in strays but it's difficult to fight off the other clans without any support. When Haruka gets back I'll have her test his abilities. I can't promise anymore than that." He said as he looked in the direction of his part of the cave. "Your teacher will be here in a moment."

Out of the cave came two white wolves. The first one I recognized as Haruka who was slightly smaller than the second one. The second one had a more dignified aura around it compared to Haruka. The two of them walked up to us and stopped at Roku's side. He looked at them and then down at Arcanine.

"Haruka please see if this young one can keep up with the other children." Haruka looked at me briefly before turning towards Arcanine. She acknowledged her father and moved towards a part of the cave I haven't been to before. She looked back at Arcanine and indicated he should follow her. The three of us watched her leave before Roku decided to talk.

"Don't worry about her for now. I'm sure she'll come around in a little bit. Asta can you help young Tobi here?"

"What does he need help with?" She asked looking down at me.

"He wants to learn how to feel nature chakra." With that Asta brought her head closer to me. She inspected me for a brief minute before laying down in front of me.

"There's only one way I know to help him is that alright dear?" Roku looked at her and nodded. Once he did he started to walk away but he lingered around long enough to watch Asta start.

"Alright. I don't really know how to teach a human how to feel nature chakra but let's do our best." She said as I stood there not knowing what to do.

"I'll need you to sit down with your back towards me. In order to feel the chakra surrounding you…" She started on her explanation about what she wanted me to do. It was honestly pretty simple since I could already unconsciously use nature chakra. She told me to try and isolate that chakra inside of me and she will take care of making sure that it isn't too much for me to handle. The first few hours were quiet with Asta giving me the occasional hint in how to find the chakra I was looking for. Some time passed before Arcanine came back and I could tell he was proud of himself. Noticing that I was in the middle of something he laid down off to the side out of the way.

A few hours later and I was reversed summoned back to the Senju compound. The first thing I wanted to do was find the nearest bath. The one thing Asta neglected to mention was that the method she knew was the method they use to teach their own young. She spent a few hours grooming me so I was covered in her saliva. Apparently it has an effect in allowing their pups to feel the chakra around them better. She held off at the beginning to see what I could achieve by myself. Since I wasn't having much progress she tried her way. I'm going to have to prepare myself for the next time this happens. I looked at my hands that still felt gross. Giving myself a once over I realized that it was worse than I thought.

"I see that you've come back." I heard from behind me. Immediately I forgot about taking a bath and thought about how to not be here. I wasn't ready for this yet since the training I had been doing earlier didn't allow me to think about what I wanted to say to Tsunade. I was still in the same situation as this morning. Only it should be worse since I've been trying to keep my distance from her and she knew it. I turned around to see her sitting in a chair. She must have really wanted to talk to me if she's sitting there like that.

"Hi Auntie" I said trying my best not to sound scared. Tsunade got up from the chair she had been sitting in and walked over to me. As she got closer to me she looked me over and her face showed her confusion.

"Are you alright?"

"I just need a bath, I think. It was part of the training they showed me and uhh…" I answered on reflex rather than thinking. Eventually though I realized what was going on and I started to lose where I was. Tsunade tried to put her hand on my shoulder to calm me down but I was drenched so she took it back.

"I'm going to go." I said as I turned to run to the bath.

"Be back here in fifteen minutes. The two of us should talk for a bit." She yelled after me. I stopped and looked at her while nodding. Once she knew I heard her she sat back down in the chair from before. The fifteen minutes went by a lot quicker than I wanted them to and before I knew it I was standing back in front of her. She leaned forward in her chair causing me to try my best at standing tall. My fists tightened by themselves while I thought about having another argument like the other night. I decided to do my best to withstand her scolding. I could feel her gaze on me before she started to speak.

"I want to apologize to you. I did something I'm ashamed of to you. It was in the heat of the moment and I got carried away. I shouldn't have done that to you and you didn't deserve it." Tsunade told me. I thought I was prepared for a few different things but I wasn't exactly prepared for this. I'm sure it showed on my face at this moment too. It must have been quite the spectacle since Tsunade let out a little chuckle.

"You look like this was the last thing you expected today."

"Yes." I barely stuttered out. I was bracing for an argument not an apology.

"What did you expect?" She asked

"That you'd demand that I tell you more. That you'd scold me for holding back on telling you things. That I was a bad kid that should listen to their parents. That you'd punish me if I didn't talk. That you might send me to be interrogated by the intel division." I listed a couple more things before Tsunade cut me off with a look that I said a lot more than I should have.

"You sure have a lot of strange ideas. A few of those come from your stories right?" I nodded to her question. "I'm going to say this now. So make sure you don't overthink things alright? Tobi I think of you as my child. It might not say that in our clan's lineage but it is how I've felt since I've met you. It is because of this fact I want you to know that I will never lock you in a cage inside of the storehouse."

"I'm sorry too." I wanted to leave it at that so I wouldn't say anything unnecessary trying to finish our apology to each other.

"You don't have anything to be sorry about. I've thought a lot about what happened the other night. I also put a lot of thought in about your story too. When I thought over a few things I came to some ideas. Is it okay to ask you some questions? I don't need specific answers but it might help me try to understand why you don't want to say anything to us." I thought about it for a minute and decided to see what she wanted to ask me. If there is something I can say I probably would say it.

"I know you've used your knowledge to help us. Because of you there have been a lot of good things that have happened to this village. A lot of people are still alive and a lot of people don't have to suffer through a civil war. I can understand there is a reason to not tell us some things now. The problem that I'm having is that I don't know the reason that you're holding so much back. I realize now that you know a lot about what happens outside of this village too. Is it okay for me to guess that reason?" She said waiting for my reaction. I didn't respond right away as I thought about it a little. If I answer her wrong and she runs wild on her suspicions then I won't be able to stop her. On the other hand she might understand why I'm not telling her and I could avoid fighting with her again. I could tell she was starting to get a little concerned about whether I might answer her. Eventually I decided to see where this might go so I nodded to her. She smiled before asking her next question.

"The things you have told people are only about this village?" Once again I nodded since the only thing I've told her outside the village was about Konan and about Karin and her mother. She took a deep breath like she was getting ready to ask something that she didn't already know.

"Things have happened outside of this village that you know of and we haven't been told about." This wasn't so much a question as she wanted me to say that it was the truth. I couldn't just say yes or no to this one. This was something I'd have to answer or otherwise she wouldn't be happy. Judging by her tone she already knew the answer.

"Yes. I know a few things outside of this village that have happened. I know plenty of other people's secrets." I could see Tsunade processing it like she expected this answer.

"Do you know about things that happen outside of the village in the future." Since this was a follow up question I didn't really need to think about giving a verbal answer. I once again nodded.

"I think I have a good enough idea now. I'm going to explain an assumption I have. Can you tell me where I'm wrong?" Tsunade asked me. Her voice told me how serious she was with this so I unexpectedly stood straighter.

"I'll do what I can." She chuckled a little as she put her hand on my head. She smiled at me before telling me her thoughts.

"I think that you know about the situations about the other villages just as much as you know about Konoha. I think that I've been ignoring the fact that you know what happens outside of the village because the war you talked about was against another village. I think that you're not telling me because you want us to be protected from what happens next." I immediately cut my eye contact with her. None of it was off the mark but I didn't want her to know that right now. It took some time but I decided to speak up.

"It's okay. You don't have to admit it if you don't want to. There is another thing I'd like to know. Do you know about the political situation of the villages in this area in the future?" I nodded to her question since it was an easy guess on her part.

"Is part of the reason you don't want to talk about it because you're afraid of something changing?"

"Yeah. I am scared of it changing. I don't want someone to change the possibility of what I know. Once it's gone then I won't be of much help in preventing something. In the future I am going to protect this family. Along with our family I'll take as many people into the future with me as possible." I told her with complete confidence. It probably wasn't the answer she was looking for but it was how I felt. I knew that in the future I'd be able to protect myself well if I could learn to use senjutsu as well as using wood style. That combination should be able to let me hold my own against pretty much anyone that might appear. The only problem I'd have is making sure that Naruto and Sasuke were strong enough to win the war like they would have in the first place.

"That's the right attitude. You can't protect anyone if you're scared or doubting yourself. However I'm not done with my questions." She said making sure she could continue. "Going off the assumption that I was correct earlier you should know the state of some or most of the other villages. If that's the case then there is a way to avoid this war?"

"I think the best I could do is delay the start of it. The more time to prepare the better it should be for us." Tsunade paused when I said that thinking about her next words.

"Does the war have anything to do with a group of people wearing black coats with red clouds on them." How? How does she know about them already? As far as I know the robe the Akatsuki used wouldn't show up until a few years from now. My face might have given her some information but I wasn't going to confirm it for her.

"No it doesn't." I said lying to her. I didn't know if she would believe me or not but I needed to do it.

"I guess I was wrong. In that case let me ask my next question. In the future are there events that will benefit the leaf if we are to stay passive? Will there be events that affect our relationship with other villages in the near future?" To my surprise Tsunade didn't try to press me on my answer. It caught me off guard and her questions were just as serious as the one before. She must have decided to ask the questions she really wanted to know about. Just like I've been thinking about this all week she might have been doing the same. That thought caused me to feel a bit of happiness. Of course hearing I mattered to her made me happy but for some reason this made it feel real to me.

The problem with her question right now was that I didn't know how to answer it. If I talked about the events outside of the village there is the possibility that they might be changed. The last thing I want was to ruin the chances with The Hidden Sand assuming they still invade in the future. It would allow me to get my revenge on Orochimaru for treating me as his experiment.

"Yes there will be and it is better to not do anything since it will be for the next generation to deal with. I think that's why I was made the age I am so I could be a little older than some of the others. At least that's what I think. I never did get a chance to ask her." I wasn't sure if I was able to help her that much. Tsunade got up from the chair she was sitting in. She looked at me before looking into the distance for a bit.

"I think I have everything I wanted to ask you. Don't worry I won't do anything to ruin the plans you have for the future. I just hope you tell me about them before they start so we can help you prepare for them."

"I'm not in trouble?" I asked wondering what just happened.

"No you're not. Like I told you earlier it was my fault and I've felt terrible about it since then. However you do have to tell me some of the stories you know with a positive view on family. I still can't believe half the things you suggested earlier." We both laughed at what she said. In the end I was worried for nothing since Tsunade decided not to pry anything specific. I'm not sure what caused her change but I wasn't going to question it. Once she was done with the important things we spent the next few hours talking about stories that I haven't shared before. About an hour into my stories Koko showed up with Tsuna and they listened in for a bit as well.

The moon was high in the sky before I had a chance to finally relax. I managed to fix my relationship with Tobi once I forced him to talk with me. Listening to his stories once again reminded me that he still needs to be shown a lot of things that life has to offer. I need to work with him so that he can rely on his own experiences instead of those from the stories he knows. In some ways he needs a lot more attention than Tsuna does. His values are from those stories but the problem is that those won't work here. Each time I heard a different setting in those stories it sounded like he'd be able to adapt to those places easily. I was worried that if he spent too much time in one of those rifts he might view that place as his home.

Recently I've been a little worried by some of Koko's reports. His behaviour outside of the compound is a little strange to me. In her reports about his time spent it looks like he doesn't care to socialize. She's noted to me that each time he does go out there is a clear goal for it. He tends to avoid areas where he might run into children from the other clans. The only time I recall him actually spending time with other children outside is when we attend events or parties. Even then he often doesn't initialize conversations with others. What I've heard about his time in the academy is that he doesn't mind socializing. Thanks to the conversation earlier I can eliminate some of the possibilities but if I had to guess it was because he knows what they're like in the future. It's also thanks to that conversation that I have a better idea of what the threat in the future is.

"Lady Tsunade is it alright if I come in?" Shizune asked from the otherside of the door. I told her it was fine and she entered.

"How did today go with Tobi?" She asked.

"It went well but I got some reminders that I need to spend more time with him. I often forget how impressionable he is to things. When I asked him about what he thought I was going to do to him do you know how many ideas he came up with before I had to stop him?" Shizune let out a small laugh as she heard my summary of what happened earlier.

"He certainly is a very interesting child. I'm glad that the two of you made up after his bath." She told me but it looked like she wanted to say something else. I gave her the okay to talk about what she wanted to ask.

"Are we really not going to do anything about that masked man? The village is still in an uproar about it."

"I thought I said that we weren't going to talk about that night." I said as Shizune reacted to my voice.

"Yes I remember but.." I interrupted her before she could let her reason out. It didn't matter to me.

"That problem will solve itself if we stay out of it. Let's not make the future any worse right now." I turned to look out the window while Shizune digested my answer. I couldn't talk anymore about it than this. Even getting out that last part was a little painful. I was also surprised that I could talk freely with Tobi but I think she expected that I wouldn't say anything to him.

"You know that Lord Fourth will ask you about it in your meeting."

"I do. I plan on telling him a few things that we've also been holding onto for a while. We might as well make our own preparations while we can."

"I understand. Do you need me to prepare anything for tomorrow?" Shizune asked once she understood there wasn't anything else to talk about.

"No I don't think there is. There is something I've been thinking about for a little bit though."

"What is it?"

"I think we should do something as a family soon. What do you think?" Shizune didn't respond right away. Everytime I see her like this I know she's already lost in thought. I hope she's including herself in this.

"I think that would be great. If anything it might improve Tobi and Konan's relationship. Maybe you should take the three of them to eat out." She said and like I expected she already took herself out of it.

"That's not a bad idea but you're coming as well Shizune. We've been through enough together and I know how much you like Tsuna and Tobi."

"Lady Tsunade"

"I'm not taking no for an answer. Can you help me plan something fun for us?"

"Yes." Her answer was much better this time.


End file.
